Senate Defeats Bartlett Amendment

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
April 17, 1975

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Shortly before The Wanderer went to press (April 10th) we received the report that, after several hours of debate, the U.S. Senate had just voted 54 to 36 to table the Bartlett Amendment to S. 66. (For text and discussion, see The Wanderer, April 3rd, 1975, p. 4).

Earlier, the U.S. Catholic Conference, on April 7th, had advised members of the U.S. Senate that the Conference had decided to support the Bartlett Amendment.

The decision was announced in a letter circulated among the senatorial offices by Mr. James L. Robinson, head of the USCC Office of Government Liaison. The text of the letter follows.

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Helms Rejects NC News Story

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
Our Second Century of Lay Apostolate
April 3, 1975

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Jesse Helms (R., N.C.) has moved to dispel what he called “a number of erroneous impressions” created by a National Catholic News Service (NC) story disseminated on March 10th. The story dealt with Helms’ oral testimony on that date before the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments, which is currently holding hearings on anti-abortion measures.

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Bartlett Changes His Amendment: A New Action Imperative

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
April 3, 1975

Sen. Dewey Bartlett (R., Okla.), on March 11th, 1975, introduced an anti-abortion amendment to the Family Planning and Population Research Act of 1975 (a part of S. 66 — see The Wanderer, March 20th, p. 4). As a result of criticism from colleagues, however, Bartlett decided to abandon that amendment in favor of a new, more specific one.

The older amendment has not been withdrawn but will not be called up for a vote. The new amendment was introduced on March 26th, with the cosponsorship of Sen. Jesse Helms (R., N.C.).

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New Slant In Bayh Hearings

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
March 27, 1975

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senate hearings on the human life amendments resumed Monday, March 10th, under the gavel of Sen. Birch Bayh (D., Ind.), and under the shadow of the Edelin verdict. Bayh, who has been studiously noncommittal throughout the yearlong inquest, dropped hints for the first time that an amendment protecting fetal life “after viability” would probably enjoy his support. Reference to the Edelin case was made by all five of the morning’s witnesses: Senators Buckley (R., N.Y.), Packwood (R., Ore.), and Helms (R., N.C.), followed by lawyers Robert Byrn and Harriet Pilpel.

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Time To Close An Abortion Loophole

By W.H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
March 20, 1975

Did you ever hear of the Dingell Amendment? It prevents Federal funds from being used by HEW to pay for abortions under the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act, to which it was attached in 1970. It is still on the books. It says, ‘‘None of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”

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Hugh Scott Moves To “Restrict” Abortion

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
March 13, 1975

WASHINGTON – Hugh Scott (R., Pa.), Minority Leader of the Senate since 1969 and one of the most powerful allies of Planned Parenthood in Washington, has begun drafting a constitutional amendment to “restrict” abortion.

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Bartlett Amendment Dropped From HEW Bill

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
December 5, 1974

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of HR 15580, the appropriations bill for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, without the anti-abortion language proposed in an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dewey Bartlett (R., Okla ).
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A Chronicle Of The Abortion Hearings (Part II)

A Chronicle Of The Abortion Hearings

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
March 28, 1974

(PART II)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the hall filled on March 7th, the second day of anti-abortion hearings before Sen. Birch Bayh’s sub- committee, a sprinkling of familiar faces appears in the audience. Russell Shaw, Bill Ryan, Bishop James Rausch, Msgr. James McHugh — a whole row of brass from the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC). This is their day in the electronic sun, the day on which four U.S. Cardinals will be filmed and photographed telling Congress to outlaw abortion.
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A Chronicle Of The Abortion Hearings

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
March 21, 1974

March 6th, 1974, is Day One. Our constitutional lawyers told us it would never come to this. But here we are at 8:30 in the morning, an hour and a half before the Senators are scheduled to appear, standing in what already amounts to quite a line. At 10 a.m. Birch Bayh will start the hearings which some worldly-wise people said would never start, and which all worldly-wise people say will never come to a pro-life conclusion. Nevertheless, here we are — not because hope springs eternal; it doesn’t — but because the truth will neither die nor let us go.

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As RTL Hearings Begin… A Look At The Bayh Subcommittee

As RTL Hearings Begin . . . A Look At The Bayh Subcommittee

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
March 7, 1974

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week Sen. Birch Bayh’s Sub-committee on Constitutional Amendments has begun the long-awaited and hopefully historic hearings on right-to-life amendments. In anticipation, people have been talking a lot about the sub-committee members, trying to figure out where they stand, trying to spot at least one Senator who might take the leadership for unborn life.

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Citizens And Cardinals

CITIZENS AND CARDINALS

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
February 21, 1974

In the parliamentary floor-fights that used to make life interesting in the Yale Political Union, we had technical terms for several sorts of maneuvers. One of these technical terms was “mickey mouse.” A maneuver was “mickey mouse” if it was both petty and transparent: something like trying to delay all business by staging a debate over the motion to accept the minutes, see? Or something like trying to keep a low Catholic profile in the Senate hearings on the Human Life Amendments by a.) sending in four Roman Catholic Cardinals but claiming b.) that they are there only in their capacity as “concerned citizens.” Once again, Annette, the Bishops’ incomparable advisors have earned a pair of mouse ears.

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Hearings Set On Human Life Amendments

W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
February 7, 1974

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Birch Bayh (D., Ind.), chairman of the constitutional amendments subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has tentatively scheduled hearings on the Helms and Buckley anti-abortion amendments for Wednesday and Thursday, March 6th and 7th.

Although no public announcement of this scheduling has been made as of this writing, Capitol Hill sources became aware of the dates on Jan. 28th, and word has begun to spread among pro-life organizations.

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