Christian Groups Run Radio Ad in Rep. Ryan’s District: GOP Budget Abandons Pro-Life Values
As Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) returns home for a Congressional recess this weekend, he’ll be greeted by a hard-hitting radio ad in his district criticizing his federal budget proposal for abandoning pro-life values.
A local Catholic priest voices the ad (available here), reminding Rep. Ryan that “actions speak louder than words” and pointing out that the GOP budget’s huge cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will harm seniors, children and persons with disabilities.
“The Catholic Church has always been clear on the sanctity of life at all stages. As a pro-life Catholic, Congressman Paul Ryan ought to know this,” said Father Thomas Kelly, the voice of the radio ad and a resident of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, in Rep. Ryan’s district. “But the budget he authored and Republicans in Congress recently passed abandons those pro-life principles by depriving vulnerable children, seniors and families of healthcare and economic support they need to put food on the table during hard times. When it comes to being pro-life, actions speak louder than words.”
The ad, sponsored by NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby and the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, will run Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
“Representative Ryan’s plan to decimate pro-life programs that help parents provide food and other necessities for their children is an outrage,” said Sr. Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, one of the sponsors of the ad. “He says the budget is a moral issue, but it’s immoral to make vulnerable people suffer in order to guarantee tax breaks for wealthy corporations and individuals. Representative Ryan’s budget proposal is the antithesis of the Gospel call for compassion and fairness.”
“We need a responsible, fair approach to cutting the deficit that reflects consistent pro-life values,” said Richard Cizik, President of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. “Rep. Ryan’s Republican budget, which makes devastating cuts that directly harm the most vulnerable among us, falls far short. Being consistently pro-life requires more than caring for the unborn, it requires following the Biblical call to care for the poor and the downtrodden. People of faith are embracing this full definition of what it means to be pro-life. If our leaders ignore the needs of the poor or favor the rich at their expense, they reject pro-life values. It’s that simple.”
The radio ad is available online here, and the text of the ad is below:
“I’m Father Thomas Kelly from Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
I’m pro-life because God calls us to protect life at all stages. Congressman Paul Ryan says he’s pro-life too, but his federal budget plan abandons pro-life values.
Congressman Ryan’s budget makes huge, irresponsible cuts to Medicaid that would take health care away from children, people with disabilities, and seniors in nursing homes.
That’s not pro-life.
Congressman Ryan’s budget hurts families who are struggling to find jobs and put food on the table, but provides big tax breaks for millionaires and large corporations whose profits are soaring. And by ending Medicare as we know it, his budget would break the promise that all seniors get the life-saving care they need.
Saying you’re pro-life isn’t enough. Congressman Ryan, actions speak louder than words.”
Paid for by NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby and the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good.
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