Links: Searchable text provided by the Library of Congress Sect. 259: Nondiscrimination on Abortion and Respect for Rights of Conscience Op Ed Nicholas Kristof "Unhealthy America" An interesting article, on "The American Catholic" exploring healthcare and Catholic social teachings Pope John XXIII's Pacem in Terris addresses the right to health care in paragraph 11
Tomorrow is the big day: House Representatives in Washington DC will vote on H.R.3962: Affordable Healthcare for America Act. I pray a sense of the common good will prevail and representatives will pass the legislation that will put America on the path to a long overdue reform of a badly broken healthcare system.
The vote will also put to rest, at least for a precious moment, the outrageous verbiage that has accompanied the public debate. I am weary of hearing that the USA has the best health care on the planet (it doesn't), that the bill is the beginning of a government takeover of healthcare in particular and any variety of freedoms in general, and that it will force providers and hospitals to perform abortions. These are just a few bits of misinformation that have me seeing red and ready for a break from tea parties and hateful speech comparing Obama and this administration to any number of social pariahs including Hitler, Mao, and Communism.
I started responding to the above issues in this blog, but I am still writing an hour and a half later. I will say this: The bill isn't perfect, but it is much better than what we have now. The public option is important because private companies have had decades to do what is right, and in many, many cases they have not. (Simple math: The more premiums, the less care, the more profits.) The poor and marginalized, children growing up in poverty pay a horrible price for our broken system. You may not want to fund abortion with taxes and health premiums (This bill has a non-discrimination clause for those doctors and hospitals that do not perform abortions...see link), but I don't want to fund executions, wars, military research, and immoral denial of services even to those who are insured, with my taxes or health premiums either.
This is not a perfect bill. It is not a perfect world. But, passing this bill is one step in beginning to reclaim in this country a sense of solidarity, a sense of the common good that is essential to a just society. It is also an essential part of the Catholic Church's teachings on social justice.
It is time to do something. On Saturday, for the first time in sixty years the full house will vote on a healthcare reform bill. May the common good win.
11. But first We must speak of man's rights. Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services. In consequence, he has the right to be looked after in the event of illhealth; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood. (8) from Pacem in Terris
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Tomorrow is the big day: House Representatives in Washington DC will vote on H.R.3962: Affordable Healthcare for America Act. I pray a sense of the common good will prevail and representatives will pass the legislation that will put America on the path to a long overdue reform of a badly broken healthcare system.
The vote will also put to rest, at least for a precious moment, the outrageous verbiage that has accompanied the public debate. I am weary of hearing that the USA has the best health care on the planet (it doesn't), that the bill is the beginning of a government takeover of healthcare in particular and any variety of freedoms in general, and that it will force providers and hospitals to perform abortions. These are just a few bits of misinformation that have me seeing red and ready for a break from tea parties and hateful speech comparing Obama and this administration to any number of social pariahs including Hitler, Mao, and Communism.
I started responding to the above issues in this blog, but I am still writing an hour and a half later. I will say this: The bill isn't perfect, but it is much better than what we have now. The public option is important because private companies have had decades to do what is right, and in many, many cases they have not. (Simple math: The more premiums, the less care, the more profits.) The poor and marginalized, children growing up in poverty pay a horrible price for our broken system. You may not want to fund abortion with taxes and health premiums (This bill has a non-discrimination clause for those doctors and hospitals that do not perform abortions...see link), but I don't want to fund executions, wars, military research, and immoral denial of services even to those who are insured, with my taxes or health premiums either.
This is not a perfect bill. It is not a perfect world. But, passing this bill is one step in beginning to reclaim in this country a sense of solidarity, a sense of the common good that is essential to a just society. It is also an essential part of the Catholic Church's teachings on social justice.
It is time to do something. On Saturday, for the first time in sixty years the full house will vote on a healthcare reform bill. May the common good win.
11. But first We must speak of man's rights. Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services. In consequence, he has the right to be looked after in the event of illhealth; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood. (8) from Pacem in Terris
Read More