In a final, urgent plea to prevent the passage of the current form of the Senate health care bill, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on Saturday evening sent a letter to Congressmen asking them to vote “no.”
“For decades,” the letter says, “the United States Catholic bishops have supported universal health care. The Catholic Church teaches that health care is a basic human right, essential for human life and dignity.”
“Our community of faith,” the bishops continue, “provides health care to millions, purchases health care for tens of thousands and addresses the failings of our health care system in our parishes, emergency rooms and shelters. This is why we as bishops continue to insist that health care reform which truly protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all is a moral imperative and an urgent national priority.”
Nevertheless, they add, “we are convinced that the Senate legislation now presented to the House of Representatives on a ”˜take it or leave it’ basis sadly fails this test and ought to be opposed.”
A prayer for the health care proposals is [url=http://anglicanprayer.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/health-care-reform/]here[/url].
It is not clear to me that the current health measures, as problematic as they may be in other areas, have any impact on the current status of state support (or non-support) of abortion.
NoVa Scout – the RC bishops have laid out their concerns here:
Their call against the Stupak Executive Order also outlines the problems:
So we will be left with an utterly corrupt health system continuing to deny people health care because of their “pre-exisiting conditions” and their inability to care. Like the Know and Do-Nothing politicians to whom they have apparently surrendered their moral authority, the Bishops have suggested nothing and supported nothing meaningful or useful to address what we have now. Good work, guys. Some of us expected something better from them, but I guess we had no right to expect anything from those who have shown such unambiguous moral strength in dealing with the sexual abuse crisis in their own institution.
Really, a more honest statement would be:
“We believe that the most important political imperative is to ban abortion, and this is in the platform of the Republican Party. Any bill which will allow the Democrats to claim a political success must be blocked in order to return power to the Republican Party as soon as possible.”
Not sure if the Bishops really understand the policy here. There isn’t, in fact, any change in federal policy. In fact, in the end, health care will reduce abortions because it will offer more women opportunity for health care.
John (#6),
If you really believe that, I’ll got some prime commerical land I’d love to sell you in Florida, right in the middle of the Everglades.
More seriously, I’m delighted that the Catholic bishops have spoken out so loud and so persistently on this, because they can’t be easily dismissed given their long track record of supporting the idea of widening health care provisions. I sure wish we could trade the HoB of TEC for the RC bishops. I’d be ten times happier with them.
David Handy+