Every day someone asks me about the fate of Divine Mercy Care and its two entities — Tepeyac Family Center and DMC Pharmacy — if the current health care proposals are approved and signed by President Obama. My response is straightforward:

— It makes no sense for us to close up shop and deprive thousands of women of an alternative to the one-directional “choice” that is offered by Planned Parenthood.

— It makes no sense for us to close DMC Pharmacy and leave our pharmacist without a place where he can morally carry out his profession and where hundreds of customers can receive personalized attention in a pro-life atmosphere unlike any other in the country.

— It makes no sense for us to forfeit our constitutional freedom to practice our religion in our work place and to provide opportunities for millions of others to practice their religion as they pursue medical care.

In an environment where Congress and the administration are moving closer and closer toward a government-run health care system, it is imperative that Catholic and other faith-based organizations stand up to the rhetoric of reform and protect the religious liberties that have made our country unique in the annals of world history.

Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled that Belmont Abbey, a small Catholic college in North Carolina, had to provide contractive birth control coverage in their health plan. The college disputed the ruling because, as a Catholic college, it was merely exercising its religious freedom granted by the U.S. Constitution. This is the “shot across the bow” provided by the current administration as it desires to strip all religious freedom from the citizens. The administration’s proposals regarding health care reform only affirm that assumption.

In July, Bishop William Murphy, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, presented four principles of Catholic health care. These include:

— respect for human life and the dignity of the person;

— access for all with special concern for the poor and inclusion of legal immigrants;

— pursuit of the common good and preserving pluralism, including freedom of conscience and variety of options;

— and cost restraint and equitable cost distribution across the spectrum of payers.

These are non-negotiable topics. The Catholic Church cannot obtain concessions on the abortion or conscience protection issue and fail on the other two. It is an all-or-nothing deal. While the American people are voicing their opposition to this health plan, there is a greater lesson to be learned by this exercise. In the words of Phil Lawler, a noted columnist, “elections have consequences.” This health plan was exactly what was on the table during the last election cycle when candidates who were in favor of religious freedom and the dignity of the human person were swept to defeat in what some call a populist uprising. While we must deal with the consequences of that action now, it is not too late to do something — yet.

The movement toward “I can’t wait for health care reform” drowns out the true issues of health care reform as stated by Bishop Murphy. We cannot fall into such traps that speed is more important than substance. We must work for ensuring that all of the principles outlined above are included in any legislative proposal.

Our work is far from done. The preliminary work in the House (we don’t know much about the Senate work because it has not been made public) has done little to advance these proposals. We are at a critical hour. Now is the time to contact our representative and senators to insist on legislation that includes all of the four principles outlined above. We can no longer trust soothing words such as “don’t worry, we would never do that.” The devil is in the details. The principles of former Senator Tom Daschle ring true today — “If you want to pass health care legislation, keep the details out of the public eye.”

Insist on the details. Insist that your legislators support your position or else be prepared to vote them out of office. Elections have consequences, but it’s not too late to act — yet.

Laird is executive director of Divine Mercy Care.

Find out more

Tepeyac Family Center, an OB-GYN practice in Fairfax, and the DMC Pharmacy in Chantilly are operating entities of Divine Mercy Care. To learn more about Divine Mercy Care, a 501(c)3 tax exempt health care organization, call 703/934-5552, e-mail info@divinemercycare.org or got to divinemercycare.org.