By Pete Sheehan

A DVD produced in New York under Catholic auspices aims to educate Catholics statewide about Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s proposed Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act.

The bill would eliminate even modest controls on legal abortion and possibly force physicians and hospitals – including Catholic hospitals – to perform abortions, said Kathleen Gallagher, director of pro-life activities for the New York State Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops.

In addition, the bill could potentially be used to force employers and health insurance plans to pay for abortion, she said.

The Albany-based conference, the Respect Life Office of the Rockville Centre Diocese and the diocese’s television station, Telecare, produced the DVD.

Recorded at Telecare in December, the DVD has been completed and it is to be distributed across the state. It is 14 minutes long; a shorter version will be developed for posting on YouTube.com.

The governor’s proposal is “misguided, immoral and radical,” Gallagher said.

The bill “is not ‘pro-choice.’ It is pro-abortion. It eliminates choice,” Gallagher said. “It will not make abortion ‘rare.’ It demands societal approval of abortion.”

“The governor’s proposal is so extreme, but many Catholics and others may not be fully aware of its scope,” said Msgr. Francis Maniscalco, director of Rockville’s Respect Life Office.

Last October, after Gallagher spoke on the governor’s proposal at the annual Rockville Centre diocesan respect life convocation, Msgr. Maniscalco said “several participants said they wish we could have this presentation to show to their parishes.”

So he decided that a DVD with her presentation could be helpful in educating the public.

“We hope to get this DVD to every parish in all eight of the dioceses in New York state,” Gallagher said. She thanked Telecare and offered her hope the DVD would be shown “to social justice committees, respect life committees and anyone willing to learn about the bill.”

Catholic voters are being urged to make their opposition known to their elected officials, especially in the state Senate, to stop “this insidious bill,” she said.