As the debate over health care reform intensifies, it is important to make clear the position advocated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and various Catholic medical associations. With that in mind, I present the following principles.
1. Healthcare reform is both a moral imperative and a national priority. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church that basic health care is a right and not a privilege. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops supports universal health care coverage, which protects the life and dignity of all, especially of those who are most vulnerable — the poor, the elderly, those with mental or physical disabilities, the unborn or the immigrant. In fact, while there is a widespread effort to deny immigrants their right to basic health care, the church cannot and does not support this. Instead, the church supports effective, but not overly intrusive, measures to expand basic health care affordability and accessibility for every human being from conception to natural death.
2. Genuine healthcare reform preserves and protects human life and dignity. The church opposes any efforts to expand abortion funding, mandate abortion coverage or endanger the conscience rights of healthcare providers and religious institutions. Since 1976, the Hyde amendment has severely restricted the use of federal funds for abortion. While originally limiting federal funding to cases where the life of the mother was endangered, in 1993 it was expanded to include the cases of rape and incest. Such cases as these, however, constitute only about 1 percent of abortions. As Catholics, we should urge all members of the House and Senate to oppose further expanding the use of federal funds for abortion or the weakening of conscience rights. Health care is on behalf of life, not for the destruction of life.
