EDITORIAL

Health care reform must protect most vulnerable

Posted

The Catholic Church has long supported genuine health care reform. Catholic moral tradition teaches that health care is a basic human right, essential to protecting human life and dignity.

In fact the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Concern for the health of its citizens requires that society help in the attainment of living-conditions that allow them to grow and reach maturity: food and clothing, housing, health care, basic education, employment and social assistance.”

Catholic dioceses including the Diocese of Providence and other Catholic institutions and ministries purchase health care for many thousands of employees and their families. Catholic hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities willingly provide quality health care to millions of Americans from every segment of society. The emergency rooms, shelters, clinics and charities affiliated with the Catholic Church provide a safety net for a failing health care system. These moral principles and everyday experiences continue to inspire the U.S. Bishops to work for comprehensive reform of the health care system that truly respects the life and dignity of all. The only acceptable option for health care reform is as the U.S. Bishops stated very clearly in their most recent letter to Congress: “Much needed reform of our health care system must be pursued in ways that serve the life and dignity of all, never in ways that undermine or violate these fundamental values.”

Unfortunately, the current proposals in Congress remain seriously flawed and must now address three essential issues. Any health care bill must exclude mandated coverage for abortion, incorporate long-standing federal policies against abortion funding, and protect conscience rights. Bishop Thomas J. Tobin recently reminded the local congressional delegation in a letter: “You can certainly count on the widespread support of the widespread support of the Catholic community, but only if the complementary values of human dignity and respect for human life are carefully preserved in the law of our land.”

Long-standing federal laws governing other major health programs, including the Hyde Amendment, prevent federal funds from being used for abortions or to help purchase benefits packages that include abortions. Unfortunately none of proposed reforms extends this policy to the new health programs. The Bishops also teach us that quality health care should be affordable and accessible to everyone, particularly those who are vulnerable and especially those who live in poverty. Health care reform must be about helping those who have inadequate coverage, if it is truly to be called a reform. Any reform must also ensure that legal immigrants have equitable access to complete and affordable health care coverage. Legal immigrants work hard and pay taxes. Excluding them from a reformed health care system is both unjust and imprudent.

President Obama has repeatedly promised the Catholic community that abortion coverage would not be included in his reform. The possibility that his promise is now going to be broken is truly regrettable. Equally as unfortunate for all Americans not only Catholics is that much-needed health care reform that protects the life, dignity and conscience rights of all may just be lost because of failure of the Obama Administration and the Democratic leaders of Congress to remedy these serious problems. Let us hope Congress chooses a reform that clearly protects the life, dignity and health of all people for that is the only health care reform that is acceptable to Catholics.