US bishops call for affordable health care without abortion; backtracking on illegal immigrants?
CWN - July 22, 2009
Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, chairman of the Committee for Domestic Justice and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said in a July 17 letter to Congress that the US bishops support healthcare reform “in a manner that offers accessible, affordable and quality health care that protects and respects the life and dignity of all people from conception until natural death.”
Bishop Murphy offered four “basic ethical principles” that would help ensure “fair and just health care reform.”
The emphasis on the “inclusion of legal immigrants” appears to represent a change of position from a May letter in which Bishop Murphy called for “comprehensive and affordable health care for every person living in the United States.”
“As we renew our longstanding support for reforming our nation’s health care system, we must also be clear that we strongly oppose inclusion of abortion as part of a national health care benefit,” Bishop Murphy added. “We would also oppose inclusion of technologies that similarly fail to uphold the sanctity and dignity of life. No health care reform plan should compel us or others to pay for the destruction of human life, whether through government funding or mandatory coverage of abortion.” Bishop Murphy also renewed the US bishops’ call for respect for the consciences of healthcare workers who oppose abortion.
Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
|
An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus: Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you! |
Easter Campaign: Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($24,787 to go):
$80,000.00
$55,212.55
31%
69%
|
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
