Commentary: American Health Care Reform - A Good End Does Not Justify Evil Means

Commentary by Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro Carámbula

(Editor's Note: Msgr. Barreiro, a Doctor of Dogmatic Theology and attorney with years of experience in international diplomacy at the UN, is head of the Rome office of Human Life International.)

ROME, Italy, August 20, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - All persons of good will need to understand the clear and present danger with which the US is being menaced by the health reform proposed by the Obama Administration. Abortion will be multiplied, the U.S. will move ahead on the road towards euthanasia, conscience rights will be in jeopardy: but what is worse, the United States would start moving towards a tyrannical, socialist government that would be the source of all sort of moral evils.

The current debate on health care reform has to be framed on the basis on some clear principles that are accessible to all persons of good will. The starting point is that health care is a basic human right. All human beings have a right to life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.

A consequence of this right is that all human persons are entitled to receive from society the necessary conditions to support life. If those conditions to support life were denied, the right to life would become illusory. One of the necessary means is appropriate health care.

This human right is complemented with the duty of each individual person to do all that he can to protect his own life, which at the same time is the first natural inclination that we find in all human beings. In this case the duty of the person is that, through gainful employment, he should be able to support himself and his natural dependents. This self-support should include healthcare.

The question that has always confronted us is when a person, either due to dysfunctions of society or his own personal handicaps, is not able to provide for himself or his family. In this case a Christian view of society on the basis of justice and charity leads to the support of those persons.

The Catholic Church has established hundreds of health care institutions dedicated primarily to assistance of the poor and destitute that could not afford to pay for appropriate health care. A good many non-Catholic Christian groups have also established such institutions.

In the recent magisterium of the Catholic Church, we can see the recognition of healthcare as a basic human right belonging to all human beings. This was proclaimed by Pius XI in his Encyclical letter, Quadragesimo Anno, n. 28, John Paul II in his Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, n. 42, par. 3, and Benedict XVI in his Encyclical Letter, Caritas in Veritate, n. 43. This position has been reiterated in letters to Congress by Bishops William Murphy on July 17th and of Cardinal Justin Rigali of August 11th.

The evident fact that society has an obligation to provide health care to those persons who are not able to obtain it by themselves, should not lead to the conclusion that this service should be provided by the Federal Government. A health care system administered by the Federal Government presents a multitude of problems.

Some have ascertained that the health care reform that is currently being considered by Congress is based on the good end of providing health coverage to all those who lack it. But there are reasonable grounds to be doubtful about this. There could be reasonable concern and doubt if that stated good end is just a cover up and a Trojan Horse to promote birth control and family planning, to expand in horrible ways the availability of abortion, to legalize euthanasia and to overwhelm the rights of conscience of all the persons that are rightfully opposed to those immoral acts.

We have to keep in mind that rights of conscience are violated not only by forcing a person to do what is against his beliefs, but also forcing him to refer a patient to another. If the rights of conscience of health care providers, medical workers and other health care personnel like nurses and pharmacists are not respected it would have catastrophic consequences for American society. All Catholic hospitals and probably many others belonging to different religious groups will have to close, and a substantial amount of their health care personnel will have to leave their professions or emigrate.

We also have to consider that this health program or any other administered by the Federal Government is another step towards socialism, and as a consequence towards the establishment of a despotic and dictatorial government.

Today we witness a constant growth of government programs that control increasing sectors of society. Those programs as a whole represent a growing erosion of the legitimate and traditional freedoms of individuals, and of many organic and natural intermediate societies like the family, villages and towns and the States of the Union.

The persons who established the American Republic were well aware of the risks of despotism that go hand in hand with the existence of a powerful central government They placed in the Constitution all sort of checks and balances. The establishment of a national health care system would be another step towards the erosion of those constitutional guarantees.

A serious concern shared by most persons who are aware of the U.S. health care system's problems is the continuing massive increase in the cost of that system. The constant growth of the Federal deficit makes it very unlikely that the central government will reduce those health care costs. More so, what is likely to happen is that the establishment of the proposed reformed national health care system will instead expand the cost of that system through a bloated bureaucracy that will actively promote a materialistic anti-life ideology.

The establishment of this health system will be an attack of the organic principle of subsidiarity. Instead, Americans need to design and develop all sorts of initiatives: first, at a local level, and then at a State level, that would provide some guarantees of health care assistance to the poor and destitute. Taking into account the principle of gratuity so well developed in the encyclical of Benedict XVI Caritas in Veritate, the establishment of non-profit medical facilities and non-profit insurance groups should be encouraged. In the current demographic circumstances those institutions should give a priority to the protection of well established large families.

Last, but not least, the cost of the proposed system should be taken into account. During this time of economic crisis, the tax burden upon American citizens should not be increased. But it should also be considered that excessive taxation not only paves the way towards despotism, it damages the economy. It paves the way towards despotism because one of the guarantees of personal freedom, the establishment of a family patrimony, would be eroded by overtaxation. It damages the economy by killing economic incentive and eliminating disposable income, two of the growth engines of a free market economy.

All persons of good will should make a serious effort to understand the deleterious implications of the Obama administration's initiatives and oppose this health care reform, through prayer and all possible moral and legal means.

LifeSiteNews

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1885 The principle of subsidiarity is opposed to all forms of collectivism. It sets limits for state intervention. It aims at harmonizing the relationships between individuals and societies. It tends toward the establishment of true international order.

More: here.

StopTheAbortionMandate.com Launches Video Galvanizing "Largest Pro-Life Coalition Ever Assembled" (8/20/09)

Click here

AUGUST RECESS ACTION Stop the Abortion Mandate Toolkit

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FOCA-by-Stealth Timeline: How Congress and the Obama Administration are Implementing FOCA by Stealth

Pro-Life Do's and Don'ts (Father Tom Euteneuer, Human Life International President)

Poll shows public opinion about health care bill and abortion funding

USCCB Pro-Life Activities (re: health care reform issues)

National Right to Life

Pro-Life Talking Points

and lastly, a "human interest" story:

"Stoning of Soraya M" Star Jim Caviezel: Pro-Life More Important Than My Career

Lord Jesus, you are the Divine Physician,
And the source of all life and health.
Guide our nation at this critical moment,
As our government seeks health care reforms.

Give our elected officials the humility to know
That they are servants, not masters.
Give them the wisdom to realize

That every life has equal value.

Give them the strength to resist the idea
That some lives can be sacrificed to save others
Or that killing the unborn is a part of health care.

Give your people the courage to speak up
And to hold public officials accountable for their actions.

Save us, Lord Jesus, from a culture of death,
And let every reform in our public policy
Be based on the reform of our hearts and minds
In the light of your Gospel,
For you are Lord forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer source: Priests for Life

From Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States (USCCB):

“The Church’s obligation to participate in shaping the moral character of society is a requirement of our faith. It is a basic part of the mission we have received from Jesus Christ…”

“Our nation’s tradition of pluralism is enhanced, not threatened, when religious groups and people of faith bring their convictions and concerns into public life. Indeed, our Church’s teaching is in accord with the foundational values that have shaped our nation’s history: ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’”

“In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.”

Maintain the truth lovingly, and always love truthfully.(Pope John Paul II)

Does Obamacare support euthanasia for the disabled?

I think so.
Sarah Palin thinks so.
The family of Terri Schindler Schiavo think so.
Read the follow from the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation and see if you agree that the disabled may find themselves denied access to health care once cost-cutting becomes necessary.

"Was President Obama Subtly Promoting Euthanasia . . .?
Who is going to decide whether or not “you're better off” with or without the surgery? What about “additional tests” or “extra care”? Will it be your physician or will it be President Obama?

Recently, during a nationally televised event at the White House, President Obama said that families need better information so they don't unthinkingly approve, “additional tests or additional drugs that the evidence shows is not necessarily going to improve care.” He added: “Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller.”
Do we need any more evidence how this President and his administration feel about the equality and dignity of human life? It seems to be becoming more and more clear that if the quality of your life has reached the point where – by the judgment of a government official – your condition will no longer improve, the Obama health care plan will no longer allow any means of help. However, even more alarming is the real possibility of an Obama health care system that would seemingly put into practice an aggressive agenda to either hasten death or, worse yet, impose death on our cognitively disabled, chronically sick and frail."

I fear for my daughter Christina who has Down syndrome. I fear for her under Obamacare, once I am gone, some death panel will decide that her life is not of sufficient 'quality' to merit medical treatment. Tomorrow I will join pro-life activists Rev Pat Mahoney and Chris Slattery on Martha's Vineyard to tell President Obama about my concerns for my daughter.
I will update you on news coverage here.

An awesome town hall smack down!

The Death Book for Veterans

Excellent article by Jim Towey, President of Catholic Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal. He is writing about the booklet, "Your Life, Your Choices."

Jim Towey stated:

One can only imagine a soldier surviving the war in Iraq and returning without all of his limbs only to encounter a veteran's health-care system that seems intent on his surrender.

I was not surprised to learn that the VA panel of experts that sought to update "Your Life, Your Choices" between 2007-2008 did not include any representatives of faith groups or disability rights advocates. And as you might guess, only one organization was listed in the new version as a resource on advance directives:

the Hemlock Society (now euphemistically known as "Compassion and Choices").

This hurry-up-and-die message is clear and unconscionable. Worse, a July 2009 VA directive instructs its primary care physicians to raise advance care planning with all VA patients and to refer them to "Your Life, Your Choices." Not just those of advanced age and debilitated condition—all patients.

America's 24 million veterans deserve better.

That 'book' is very much geared to guiding a disabled person toward ending their life. I read it last night.
It isn't JUST the Iraq veterans that the VA treats, but also those who are disabled from previous military service, like the WWII, Korean, Vietnam, etc.

Abortion is not the only aspect of the Obama Health Care that worries me, as I am nearing retirement age, and have a medical history that would easily cause ME to be 'counseled' the way this booklet directs...

With the death by abortion of so many children since 1973, the work force has decreased so much that the large number of those of us in this 'baby boomers' group JUST STARTING to reach retirement age will NOT be able to be supported by those that survived. There is not enough money out there to have health care for everyone that is paid for by taxes. Rationed care ... or a strong push toward guilting people to end their lives is a very REAL possibility.

God bless!

WHO IS REALLY ‘WEE-WEED UP’?

by Judie Brown

President Obama has resorted to an incredibly infantile phrase—”wee-weed up”—to degrade his "health care reform" detractors. While the White House has now explained this remark as the president describing opponents of his health care debacle as agitated bed wetters, the truth is sobering—not silly. In fact, Obama’s opponents are perhaps a bit more honest than he would like; thus, the insults.

Having said that, the worrying fact is that there are still an enormous number of well-meaning people, including Catholics, who simply do not want to see the truth about what is and is not contained in the various proposals currently floating around Congress. One example recently came my way via a Facebook comment.

A very sincere Catholic recently wrote to me about American Life League’s opposition to the "health care reform" plan, even though our concerns stem from the fact that the proposals are based on imposed death as a cost-saving measure. The more I read and reread her earnest viewpoint on the matter, the more I am convinced that far too many Catholic Americans have never heard of the Church’s the teachings. Either that, or they do not understand and accept them. Such confusion results from a type of Catholic ignorance which Americans like Obama count on, day in and day out.


Click here to read the rest of Judie's column.

An example of how national socialized medicine through the military handles end of life issues.

UPDATED: Obama's VA pulls so-called 'Death Book' from website | Washington Examiner

Pray Regarding Health Care Reform