Way back in 2006, Bob Casey, Jr. ran against incumbant Rick Santorum for Pennsylvania's Senate seat. Santorum was an outspoken supporter of the War on Terror, as well as the Pro-Life cause. The NYTimes even endorsed Santorum based on his record for helping the poor (over and above his pro-life stance and his support for the War on Terror) over Casey. Casey ran as the "I'm not a Republican" candidate, although in almost every meaningful way, he and Santorum supposedly were identical. Casey somewhat supported the War on Terror, and was the son of outspoken pro-life Democratic governor, Bob Casey, Sr. To the average Joe, because Casey and Santorum were somewhat interchangeable, and the Republican party wasn't high on people's list, Casey seemed fine. Of course, nationwide, Casey's election helped tip the balance of power to the Democratic Party in the Senate, but really, how are people going to anticipate that?
Many people were concerned that Casey would put aside his pro-life principles in favor of the party line. On the big things, Casey appeared to support Life, but it was the little votes that show the true Casey. For example, he voted along party lines when the Mexico City Policy vote came up. Bishop Martino, then Bishop of Scranton, Casey's hometown, called him on it. During the Obamacare debate, Casey sponsored an amendment that sounded good, but had no real meaning or point (it essentially was his way of sounding pro-life, but towing the party line).
When it became obvious that the Republican Party was going to attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, I wrote to Casey's office, urging him to support the legislation that would defund PP. This is what he wrote back:
"Dear Mr. Aukema:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about family planning. I appreciate hearing from you about this issue.
Access to family planning services is of paramount importance for women in America. As a public official, I have sought to support family planning as an essential means of preventing unintended pregnancies. Because reducing the number of unintended pregnancies reduces the number of abortions, I will continue to support programs that expand access to family planning services.
Increasing access to comprehensive health insurance is a critical first step to ensuring the health of more women and their families. As of 2008, 14 percent of women in the United States had no health insurance. On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Act”) into law. The Act will make significant changes to health coverage for woman, expanding health insurance coverage to an estimated 12.3 million additional women, and guaranteeing greater access to recommended preventive health benefits.
The expansion of Medicaid family planning programs in the Act presents an opportunity to improve low income women’s access to contraceptive services. Following passage of the Act, states are now able to expand their state Medicaid family planning programs without first obtaining federal approval. The Act also makes important progress toward ending insurance companies’ discriminatory coverage policies, such as treating pregnancy as a pre-existing condition.
The Act also includes a new program, the Pregnancy Assistance Fund, based on legislation I introduced. The Pregnancy Assistance Fund will reduce the number of abortions by providing support for pregnant women, including funding for programs that help pregnant or parenting teens and young women stay in school; funding for colleges and universities to provide pregnancy and parenting resources for their students; and assistance to states to provide intervention services, accompaniment and supportive social services for pregnant victims of domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking. This amendment was included in the Act and received $250 million in appropriated funds. Pilot programs are currently being implemented in 17 different states to address the needs of these young women.
At my urging, the Act also extends and increases funding for adoption by $1.2 billion over two years, by extending and increasing the Adoption Tax Credit. The recently-enacted Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 extended the tax credit as it existed before the Act for another year, through 2012.
I have also consistently supported funding for the Title X national family planning program to provide contraceptive services and other health care to low income women. As a pro-life Senator, I believe family planning reduces the number of unintended pregnancies, and thereby reduces the number of abortions.
I voted against H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, which would have eliminated funding for Title X and barred Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funds for non-abortion related health care. Providers are statutorily prohibited by the Hyde Amendment from using federal funds for abortion. Title X funding also supports well-woman and preventive health care like annual gynecological exams and gynecological cancer screenings.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.
If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov/. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.
Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator"
It is obvious from this that Bishop Martino was right in calling Casey to account: he is not pro-life in any way, shape or form. If you are from Pennsylvania, and pro-life, don't vote Casey in 2012. He lied and babies died.
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