A new state law allowing couples to hire women to give birth to their children for a fee will have all sorts of negative ramifications, according to Catholic leaders and pro-life supporters who are speaking out against it.

A new state law allowing couples to hire women to give birth to their children for a fee will have all sorts of negative ramifications, according to Catholic leaders and pro-life supporters who are speaking out against it.
Fourteen years after the Diocese of Brooklyn began to offer programs in parishes and schools to prevent abuse of minors, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed “Erin’s Law” on Aug. 29, requiring public schools in New York state to have a similar program.
In the aftermath of the passage of the Reproductive Health Act in January, the New York State Catholic Conference (NYSCC) continues to lobby for bills that would help pregnant women and boost adoption, while opposing bills that it deems harmful to life at any stage.
The New York Assembly and Senate approve Child Victims Act Monday, January 28, by an overwhelming majority.
Applying Catholic principles about death and dying issues to New York State laws was the topic for Kathleen Gallagher of the New York State Catholic Conference, when she visited Brooklyn Wednesday evening, Oct. 5.
“Choice” rings hollow when pressures come from family members who increasingly see their financial resources being drained and their loved ones as burdens; when health insurance companies will pay for a lethal dose of drugs, but deny a claim for expensive chemotherapy treatments; when health providers subtly make judgment calls about whose lives are worth living and whose are not; and when the mechanisms of our very government sanction and assist in death-making.
Having a conversation about end-of-life care is awkward and difficult, but it can help in making decisions about what matters most when the time comes. That was the focus of “Journey to Healing: End of Life Conversations and the Catholic Perspective,” a free conference hosted by Catholic Charities Bereavement Services.
The Catholics at the Capitol lobby day in Albany will not be held this year; instead, a multi-pronged approach to advocacy with the state legislature will be developed, some of which will be implemented in the 2015 session.