Weekly Update for the MCC's Citizens' Network                                       July 18, 2014  
Inside this issue
  Veto Override Campaign Underway  
 
Last week we reported on Governor Nixon's veto of two pro-life bills: HB 1307 which would extend the waiting period for an abortion from 24 to 72 hours; and, HB 1132 which would expand tax credits for pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, and food pantries. We have until September 10, when the veto session convenes here in Jefferson City, to convince legislators to vote to override the governor's vetoes and ensure that both bills become state law. In case you missed it, here is an action alert we sent out last week that has a pre-composed message you can send to your state legislators.
 
 

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  Report Back to the MCC!  
 
One of the first things a legislative advocate learns is to be sure to "count your votes." The votes are there to override the governor's veto on both HB 1307 and 1132, but things can happen. A legislator can be ill the day of the veto session, another may decide a family vacation is more important, while yet another may change his mind after talking to the governor or the governor's staff.
 
That's why it is absolutely essential that you report back to the MCC and tell us what your legislators are saying. As noted in the MCC alert, there are two questions to ask and get answers to: 1) will the legislator be attending the veto session; and 2) will he/she vote to override the governor's veto on both HB 1307 (the waiting period legislation) and HB 1132 (the tax credits for PRCs, maternity homes and food pantries). Please let us know what your legislators are saying!


 
 

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  Children at the Border: a Humanitarian Crisis  
 
Regardless of one's feelings about illegal immigration, it must be acknowledged that the massive influx of unaccompanied minors into the U.S. has become a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.  But what is causing these children to risk their lives to come to the U.S.?  Is it poverty, threats of gang violence and human trafficking, desperation, or misguided U.S. policies? Only by understanding the problem can we hope to address it.  This article from the Atlantic gives some insights, as does this article from Vox.com.
 
Obviously, there is no quick fix to this problem. For many, the issue of illegal immigration raises strong emotions, and the rhetoric can be hurtful at times.  Pope Francis has recently spoken against such rhetoric, calling on the faithful to move away from "attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization."
 

 
 

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  Religious Liberty Remains a Challenge Post Hobby Lobby  
 
Defenders of religious liberty breathed a collective sigh of relief following the Hobby Lobby decision.  The 5-4 decision was, after all, a victory for religious liberty, if only a modest one.  Following the decision, however, the pro-choice lobby denounced the decision as denying women access to contraception, among other arguments.  Richard Doerflinger, Associate Director of the Secretariat of Pro-life Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, breaks these arguments down, explaining what the court actually did. Click arguments to read.
 
In addition, this week, leadership in the U.S. Senate sought to bring SB 2578 to vote, a bill that would have undermined the court's ruling.  Fortunately, there were not sufficient votes to bring the matter before the body for a vote, but the bill only fell 4 votes shy of obtaining the 60 votes needed for consideration.  As Archbishop Lori, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, remarked "we need more respect for religious freedom in our nation, not less."
 
 

 
 

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  While Missouri Executes, California Strikes down Death Penalty  
 
On Wednesday, lawyers for John Middleton were in a battle with the State of Missouri to stop his execution. The state won, and Middleton became the eighth person executed in nine months in Missouri. On the same day across the country, a federal judge ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in California. Citing the long delays before an execution occurs in California, Judge Cormac Carney wrote that inmates "languished for so long on Death Row that their execution will serve no retributive or deterrent purpose and will be arbitrary."

The California ruling overturned the death sentence of Ernest Dewayne Jones, an inmate who has been on California's death row for nearly twenty years.  Overall, only 13 of the 900 inmates sentenced to death in California since 1978 have been put to death.  Nearly half of the 750 currently on death row have been there for more than nineteen years.

California could appeal the ruling. While the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty, it has occasionally ruled that the death penalty can violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, depending how it is applied. 

 
 

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  Where's the Doctor?  
 
A new report by the Missouri Hospital Association says it is getting harder for rural Missourians to access primary care doctors. Increasingly, new doctors are specialists and live in urban areas. The graph below shows the disparity between rural and urban areas in the availability of primary care doctors.

 

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  MCC Annual Assembly to Address Doctor Shortages  
 
One of the workshops at this year's MCC Annual Assembly will address the challenges facing our health care delivery system, including the lack of primary care physicians in many parts of our state. Dr. Wayne Cooper is a family physician from Camdenton and a former state representative. He has been on the frontlines of health care and knows the public policy issues surrounding health care. This is one more reason to attend the assembly, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 4, at  the State Capitol. To register call the MCC at 1-800-456-1679, or visit our Web site.
 
 

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  How to Reverse the Decline of Marriage  
 
Many family scholars agree that both economic and cultural factors are at work in undermining the institution of marriage. Part of the explanation may be the lack of decent paying jobs that lead working middle class couples to conclude that marriage is not feasible. Yet, couples married and stayed married during the Great Depression, so economic factors cannot fully explain the current decline in marriage. So what can be done?
 
This is far too complex a problem to be solved solely by passing new laws or having churches escalate their evangelization efforts. All this is needed, but much more is required. In The Marginalization of Marriage in Middle America, family scholars W. Bradford Wilcox and Andrew J. Cherlin offer several suggestions.
  • Boost training for middle-skill jobs. The auto plant jobs that used to pay good wages may be gone, but there are jobs available that will pay well if young people obtain the proper training. These jobs typically don't require a college graduate but well-trained technicians, such as licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists, x-ray technicians, and electricians.
  • Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). EITC is essentially a wage subsidy for lower income workers. It enjoys bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats as a way to reward those who enter the workforce and try to get ahead. EITC could be restructured so as not to penalize lower-income couples who marry and have a slightly better income than those who remain single for legal purposes but are cohabitating.
  • Promote marriage through marketing campaigns. Marketing campaigns have been successful in discouraging the use of tobacco, why not mount this kind of concerted public campaign on behalf of marriage.
  • Increase the Child Tax Credit. Right now parents can claim a federal income tax credit for their child dependents. One way to encourage marriage and the formation of families may be to increase the existing child credit. This could create more stable economic conditions for married couples, making marriage more attractive.
  • Better fund preschool children's development. Young men and women who have not had a good K-12 education are not be in a position to take advantage of training opportunities for jobs such as x-ray technicians and electricians. Research shows that pre-school education is the essential first step, especially for the economically disadvantaged.
  • Reform divorce laws. The no-fault divorce laws enacted by many states in recent years may be undermining the public's respect for the institution of marriage and weakening the commitment of couples to work out their differences. One idea would be to increase the waiting period before a couple can proceed with a divorce, as well encouraging more marriage counseling.
Obviously, none of these suggestions offer a sliver bullet solution. The larger point is that a crisis is underway and solutions are needed to revitalize marriage and family.
 

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