WASHINGTON (CNS) – Here is the text of a statement from the
U.S. bishops on health reform signed into law March 23 by
President Barack Obama. The statement was approved by the
Administrative Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops:
For nearly a century, the Catholic bishops of the United
States have called for reform of our health care system so
that all may have access to the care that recognizes and
affirms their human dignity. Christian discipleship means
“working to ensure that all people have access to what makes
them fully human and fosters their human dignity” (U.S.
Catholic Catechism for Adults, p. 454). Included among those
elements is the provision of necessary and appropriate health
care.
For too long, this question has gone unaddressed in our
country. Often, while many had access to excellent medical
treatment, millions of others including expectant mothers,
struggling families or those with serious medical or physical
problems were left unable to afford the care they needed. As
Catholic bishops, we have expressed our support for efforts
to address this national and societal shortcoming. We have
spoken for the poorest and most defenseless among us. Many
elements of the health care reform measure signed into law by
the president address these concerns and so help to fulfill
the duty that we have to each other for the common good. We
are bishops, and therefore pastors and teachers. In that
role, we applaud the effort to expand health care to all.
Nevertheless, for whatever good this law achieves or intends,
we as Catholic bishops have opposed its passage because there
is compelling evidence that it would expand the role of the
federal government in funding and facilitating abortion and
plans that cover abortion. The statute appropriates billions
of dollars in new funding without explicitly prohibiting the
use of these funds for abortion, and it provides federal
subsidies for health plans covering elective abortions. Its
failure to preserve the legal status quo that has regulated
the government’s relation to abortion, as did the original
bill adopted by the House of Representatives last November,
could undermine what has been the law of our land for decades
and threatens the consensus of the majority of Americans:
that federal funds not be used for abortions or plans that
cover abortions. Stranger still, the statute forces all those
who choose federally subsidized plans that cover abortion to
pay for other peoples’ abortions with their own funds. If
this new law is intended to prevent people from being
complicit in the abortions of others, it is at war with
itself.
We share fully the admirable intention of President Obama
expressed in his pending executive order, where he states,
“It is necessary to establish an adequate enforcement
mechanism to ensure that federal funds are not used for
abortion services.” However, the fact that an executive order
is necessary to clarify the legislation points to
deficiencies in the statute itself. We do not understand how
an executive order, no matter how well intentioned, can
substitute for statutory provisions.
The statute is also profoundly flawed because it has failed
to include necessary language to provide essential conscience
protections (both within and beyond the abortion context). As
well, many immigrant workers and their families could be left
worse off since they will not be allowed to purchase health
coverage in the new exchanges to be created, even if they use
their own money.
Many in Congress and the administration, as well as
individuals and groups in the Catholic community, have
repeatedly insisted that there is no federal funding for
abortion in this statute and that strong conscience
protection has been assured. Analyses that are being
published separately show this not to be the case, which is
why we oppose it in its current form. We and many others will
follow the government’s implementation of health care reform
and will work to ensure that Congress and the administration
live up to the claims that have contributed to its passage.
We believe, finally, that new legislation to address its
deficiencies will almost certainly be required.
As bishops, we wish to recognize the principled actions of
the pro-life members of Congress from both parties, in the
House and the Senate, who have worked courageously to create
legislation that respects the principles outlined above. They
have often been vilified and have worked against great odds.
As bishops of the Catholic Church, we speak in the name of
the Church and for the Catholic faith itself. The Catholic
faith is not a partisan agenda and we take this opportunity
to recommit ourselves to working for health care which truly
and fully safeguards the life, dignity, conscience and health
of all, from the child in the womb to those in their last
days on earth.
