Spitzer Sputters

Governor Spitzer's executive order to license illegal immigrant drivers has resulted in a public interest group, Judicial Watch, suing him, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the DMV commissioner for circumventing the State Administrative Procedure Act. Another problematic Spitzer bill is the Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act (S.5829), which could force all hospitals to allow abortions, including religious hospitals whose mission statements oppose the procedure. The governor's biggest problem may be tiny Gabriel Jones, who more than anyone drives home the message that abortion kills a living human being.

From the beginning, Mr. Spitzer's reasoning for the licensing proposal has been flawed, which has led many to believe, as I do, that the real purpose behind it may be to allow potential voting mischief. Polls show that 77% of New Yorkers reject the licensing proposal regardless of the governor's claim that national security warrants documenting illegals who are already here. If Mr. Spitzer believes the passports or birth certificates presented to obtain these licenses are genuine, then I'd like to know how he intends to authenticate them.

Mr. Spitzer has also said that he feels that issuing licenses to illegal immigrants would lower insurance rates and bring undocumented residents out into the open. Why on earth would insurance companies lower their rates? The governor's proposal does nothing to guarantee that these illegal immigrants would buy insurance. There are many legal drivers who do not carry insurance. This is for two reasons: It's too expensive, and they don't own any property that can be sacrificed in case of an accident or lawsuit.

The president of Judicial Watch, Thomas Fitton, explained in his press release: "Eliot Spitzer wants to use his public office to sanction illegal behavior and put all of us at risk through his plan to give driver licenses to illegal aliens. If Governor Spitzer wants to change the rules, he has to follow the rules – which means going through the New York State Legislature and otherwise following New York law."

As for Mr. Spitzer's Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act, I am reminded of the time when Mayor Koch attempted an executive order to force Catholic social agencies to provide services that would undermine church teaching. The archbishop of New York at the time, John Cardinal O'Connor, announced that he would be forced to shut down all services offered by the archdiocese. At an Albany news conference in 1999, O'Connor said Catholic health care providers were under siege from some community groups, but providers would not compromise their principles on the issues of reproductive choice, physician assisted suicide, or partial birth abortion.

Eventually, a court sided with the cardinal. Mr. Koch and O'Connor went on to have a mutual respect and co-authored an excellent book, "His Eminence and Hizzoner," which I recommend to the governor so he may learn how individuals with incompatible social positions can work together for the benefit of the community.

Whether there are church administrators as determined as O'Connor and who will not compromise their moral precepts, the issue of abortion still remains a highly volatile topic for many. Those who are pro-choice must pause when they read about miracle babies like Gabriel Jones.

Dubbed "the boy who refused to die," Gabriel is now a healthy 7-month-old who survived multiple abortion attempts by doctors trying to separate him in vitro from his twin, Ieuan. Sonograms indicated that Gabriel had an enlarged heart and was not thriving, and a termination was deemed necessary so Ieuan would survive. The doctors tried in vain to sever his umbilical cord — it was too strong. Then they cut his mother's placenta in half so that when Gabriel died it would not affect his twin. Gabriel, whom doctors called "Rocky," had other plans, not only fighting for his life but hanging on until both twins were born by Caesarean section five weeks later.

Photos of the happy mother holding her beautiful identical twins were posted all over the Internet, and while many have logical explanations for the "miracle," I rather like what I read last Sunday at Mass. The first Scripture reading was from the Book of Wisdom, 11:22-12:2, which says: "For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made … and how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you."

acolon@nysun.com