This week Governor Kathleen Sebelius appeared before two Senate Committees in hearings to determine whether she will become Secretary of Health and Human Services. In doing so, she garnered bipartisan support for her appointment. Many see her, as I do, as being superbly qualified to lead HHS in a time when the nation is facing a myriad of challenging health care issues in these troubling economic times.

Following her nomination several weeks ago, a few members of the Catholic hierarchy and their ultra-conservative allies were critical of Governor Sebelius, a Catholic, for her prochoice views.  We are heartened that her Catholic social justice beliefs have guided her to protect the moral capacity of people to make sound decisions about their lives and note that at the center of this social justice tradition that we share with her the preferential option for the poor, a belief that we must never ignore the needs of those struggling to provide for their families. It is also worth reminding these critics, and ourselves, that this is what 53 percent of the American electorate and 54 percent of American Catholics voted for last November.

It is also important to remind critics that, while their primary focus may be on the issue of abortion, most Catholic voters do not consider abortion to be a top priority.  A poll conducted by Catholics for Choice in the lead up to the 2008 election showed that Catholic voters place much greater priority on the bread-and-butter issues.  Across the board, Catholic voters named improving the economy (68%) and protecting the US from terrorism (54%) as top priorities, while protecting a woman's right to choose was towards the bottom of the priority list (18%).

These numbers show us that it is time to move on from the culture wars over abortion and contraception.  The Prevention Not Prohibition campaign of Catholics for Choice was initiated to do just that.  Speaking for Catholics and for the majority of all people throughout the country, the campaign seeks to uplift prevention efforts in order to reduce unintended pregnancies and the need for abortion.

It is important to note that the goal of prevention efforts should be to reduce the need, not the number of abortions. This is a critically important distinction. Holistic prevention efforts address all the factors under which women decide to terminate pregnancies. These needs, like access to health care and affordable child care, should be addressed by a society that supports women, children and families. Those who speak of reducing the number of abortions seek to decide for women instead of letting women decide when to terminate or continue a pregnancy.

It is time to end the childish, petty name-calling that has characterized this debate as seen in the nomination of Governor Sebelius. Rather than seeking to present reproductive health as a distraction from the real issues of the day, we need to emphasize that these services are an integral part of providing for the needs of families. It is in economically tough times such as these that access to these services become more difficult for many people--not just those who have lost their jobs, but also those whose hours have been cut and those who live from paycheck to paycheck at the best of times. Keeping these women, men and families in mind, we look forward to the confirmation of Governor Sebelius's nomination by the Senate in the upcoming weeks, and to working with her and the department to further expand access to comprehensive health care services, including reproductive care.