By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched a Web page promoting its support of “truly universal health policy with respect for human life and dignity.”
The page includes videos of USCCB staff discussing the bishops’ position on health care, such as Richard Doerflinger, associate director of Pro-Life Activities, who describes how abortion relates to the health care debate. Kathy Saile, director of Domestic Social Development outlines the bishops’ general position and concerns.
The page also contains little known facts and statistics about Catholic health care in America which is one of the nation’s largest providers. For instance, in just one year, Catholic health care facilities handled 16.9 million emergency room visits, more than 92.7 million outpatient visits, and 5.5 million admissions. Eleven of the nation’s top 40 providers are Catholic institutions.
Therefore, the site states, the Catholic Church is “a credible voice and a significant player in the debate surrounding health care reform and the many Americans who will be affected by it.”
It also explains Church teaching on the subject of health care, which believes everyone has a right to “those things necessary to sustain life, including affordable, quality health care,” irregardless of where they work or live, or how much their family earns. “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,” the site states.
Also found on the site is the bishops full statement on health care reform, A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform. In this statement, the bishops plainly lay out their position: “When destructive practices such as abortion or euthanasia seek acceptance as aspects of ‘health care’ alongside genuine elements of the healing art, the very meaning of health care is distorted and threatened.”
For more information, visit www.usccb.org/healthcare
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