The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) had asked Catholic citizens to contact their representatives and senators in Congress on two distinct yet connected issues. Both involve reform of systems that the bishops consider broken: immigration and health care.
As often reported in these pages, the American Catholic bishops have long urged Congress to enact legislation to extend decent healthcare coverage to everyone in the country. They have not endorsed any particular means of achieving this goal. The have instead insisted that any plan adopted should “comply with long-standing Hyde restrictions on federal funding of elective abortions and health plans that include them.” Moreover, that plan should protect the consciences of health care providers who object to performing abortions and other procedures they deem immoral. Finally, the plan adopted should include immigrants, no matter what their legal status.
The bishops, spiritual leaders of some 70 million Americans, had a surprisingly strong influence on the House of Representatives. That body—surprisingly, given its leadership— retained the Hyde Amendment restrictions on abortion funding and included some conscience protection, although it did not touch the politically “hot” issue of extending coverage to “illegal” immigrants.
The bishops did not have the same influence on the Senate. The upper house’s version of the health care reform bill did not retain the Hyde restrictions. Indeed, it would require purchasers of some health insurance plans “to pay for other people’s abortions in a very direct and explicit way,” a letter issued by three U.S.C.C.B. chairmen said. “There is no provision for individuals to opt out of this abortion payment in federally subsidized plans, so people will be required by law to pay for other people’s abortions,” it added. As reported earlier, the bill passed also fails to include provisions to prevent “discrimination against health care providers that decline involvement in abortion” and would not protect the rights of Catholic and other institutions “to provide and purchase health coverage consistent with their moral and religious convictions on other procedures,” the chairmen said. The Senate did not vote to extend coverage to undocumented immigrants either.
As the conference committee meets to reconcile the two bills, the bishops, concerned that the Senate version will be adopted, are urging all Catholic citizens to send messages to their representatives and senators. The emphasis in the messages is on opposing taxpayer funding of abortion and on conscience protection, but health coverage for immigrants is implied in the demand for health care that is accessible and affordable for all. (See the USCCB Healthcare Webpage)
The bishops also urge Catholic citizens to contact their senators and representatives to enact immigration reform.
Now some of our readers will support the call to oppose abortion but may shrink from advocating health insurance coverage for all immigrants, let alone an overhaul of immigration law to open up a path to citizenship for those who came here illegally. One can imagine “conservative” Catholics agreeing to send messages opposing abortion coverage, but refusing to send the requested messages favoring immigration reform. And one can imagine “liberal” Catholics balking at sending an anti-abortion message but agreeing to send a pro-immigration reform postcard.
Actually, the Catholic hierarchy is being entirely consistent when it advocates protecting the innocent lives of unborn children and the consciences of health care workers and, at the same time advocates “immigration reform legislation that keeps immigrant families together, adopts smart and humane enforcement policies, and ensures that immigrants without legal status register with the government and begin a path toward citizenship.” The same insight underlies both stances: the profound Catholic respect for the dignity of every human person, born or unborn, familiar or alien. That dignity is rooted in God’s creation of each human being in his image and likeness, in Christ’s death for each person and his resurrection for his or her justification, and in the gift of the Holy Spirit offered to each for his or her sanctification. The Catholic respect for the dignity of each human person goes even farther, for we see Christ “in the distressing disguise of the poor,” the sick, the alien, the unborn.
The Southern Cross echoes the request of our bishops and urges its readers to send the messages requested to their representatives and senators, and in the face of opposition from those who would deprive us of our rightful voice in the marketplace of ideas.
—DKC