AS ANTI ABORTION protesters gather here to picket the Democratic convention, a Catholic group has accused the US hierarchy of a "partisan campaign" against President Clinton on abortion.
Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) yesterday published an Open Letter to the Bishops of the United States" noting that during the recent Republican convention the only advertising by the hierarchy was to criticise President Clinton's veto of a Bill to ban "dilation and extraction as a method of abortion in late pregnancy."
Critics of this method usually refer to it as "partial birth abortion", because it involves suctioning out the brain of the foetus to collapse the skull and make extraction easier.
The Catholic bishops, as well as Pope John Paul II, have publicly criticised President Clinton for vetoing the Bill, passed by the Republican controlled Congress.
The President said he could not support the Bill because the only exception it allowed was danger to the life of the mother, and not danger to health as well.
The CFFC has also published a document showing that, according to opinion polls, only 15 per cent of US Catholics agree with the bishops' position that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.
The organisation cites a 1995 Time/CNN poll to claim: "A full 82 per cent of US Catholics say abortion should be legal either under certain circumstances or without restrictions. This figure is close to the figure for all Americans of 87 per cent."
Feelings against President Clinton for his veto of the Bill are running very high in the hierarchy and among church going Catholics. Cardinal O'Connor of New York has strongly condemned the President's action and has refused to invite him to the annual Al Smith dinner.
In its open letter to the bishops, the CFFC commends them for their statement calling for civil debate in public life and listing abortion, arms control, immigration and welfare reform as important issues in 1996.
But the letter goes on to say, "so frequent, so vehement, and so condemning of individual political figures are your statements and actions on abortion as compared to other issues, that it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the United States Catholic Conference and individual diocesan leaders are conducting a partisan campaign.
The CFFC calls on the hierarchy "to refrain from the single issue partisan campaign against abortion that has characterised your activity in this election season and to begin a genuine education campaign on the full range of critical issues", including immigration and welfare.
It describes itself as a "social justice organisation". It favours full access to artificial contraception and is pro choice on abortion. Its new head of information is Mr Jon O'Brien, who used to work for the Irish Family Planning Association.