Now, can we all get behind this plan?
President Barak Obama: "And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up -- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place." (emphasis added)
"Genuine health care reform that protects the life and dignity of all is a moral imperative and a vital national obligation"
- Bishop William F. Murphy
U.S. Bishops position on health care:
"In our Catholic tradition,
health care is a basic human right. Access to health care should not depend on where a person works, how much a family earns, or where a person lives.
Instead, every person, created in the image and likeness of God, has a right to life and to those things necessary to sustain life, including affordable, quality health care. This teaching is rooted in the biblical call to heal the sick and to serve "the least of these," our concern for human life and dignity, and the principle of the common good. Unfortunately, tens of millions of Americans do not have health insurance. According to the Catholic bishops of the United States, the current health care system is in need of fundamental reform.
To learn about Catholic teaching on health care in more detail, read the full statement by the United States Catholic Bishops, A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform, at usccb.org/sdwp/national/comphealth.shtml.