Catholic Bishops Voice Opposition To Health Reform, Abortion Coverage

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 31 Aug 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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A growing number of Catholic bishops are speaking out against President Obama's health reform proposals, although the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had largely embraced the president's proposal as recently as last month, according to the New York Times. The conflict reflects the struggle within the Catholic Church over how to balance abortion-rights opposition with concerns about social justice.

However, several USCCB leaders in recent weeks have argued that the Democrats' proposals on abortion coverage are "so inadequate that lawmakers should block the entire effort," the Times reports. In a recent pastoral letter, Bishop Walker Nickless of Sioux City, Iowa, urged Catholics to contact their congressional representatives. "No health care reform is better than the wrong sort of health care reform," Nickless wrote. He also said that the church "does not teach that government should directly provide health care," adding, "Any legislation that undermines the vitality of the private sector is suspect."

Cardinal Justin Rigali, head of USCCB's antiabortion-rights efforts, sent a letter to Congress on Aug. 11, calling a proposal, known as the Capps Amendment, to separate money for abortion coverage from federal funds "an illusion." He claimed in the letter that taxpayers would be indirectly paying for abortion and urged House members to block a vote on the chamber's bill (HR 3200) unless it explicitly prohibits abortion coverage.

Obama has said in the past that health care reform should maintain current restrictions on federal funding for elective abortion services, such as the Hyde Amendment, which only allows the use of federal Medicaid funding for abortions in the cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman. Abortion-rights opponents are pushing for a model similar to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, which excludes health plans that cover abortion services.

Congressional Democrats say they are trying to follow Obama's intentions by segregating federal subsidies that go to health insurers from money to abortion services. They note that many states use similar models in their Medicaid programs. The Capps Amendment, approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would require any public and private insurance plans that cover abortion services to segregate government subsidies from patients' premiums so that no taxpayer money would finance coverage of the procedure. The amendment does not require that all insurance plans cover abortion services, and patients can choose between plans that offer the coverage or not. The House bill also would allow the HHS secretary to decide whether a proposed government-run insurance program would cover abortion services.

Obama held a conference call with 140,000 religious voters last week to try to gain their support for health reform, based on what he called their "moral convictions." During the conference call, Obama denied claims that his plan would allow federal funding for abortion, adding that such accusations are "fabrications that have been put out there in order to discourage people from meeting what I consider to be a core ethical and moral obligation."

Liberal Catholic groups say that most bishops remain supportive of the broader goals of health care reform, even though they are concerned about abortion-related issues. The Times reports that the groups Catholic Charities and the Catholic Health Association endorsed Obama's plan "without hesitation." Bishop William Murphy of Rockville, N.Y. -- chair of the bishops' domestic justice committee -- on July 17 sent a letter to Obama and Congress saying that the bishops "strongly oppose inclusion of abortion as part of a national health care benefit." However, he added that a priority for the church is to provide health coverage for the poor and noted that health care is "not a privilege but a right." He wrote, "Health care is not just another issue for the church or for a health society. It is a fundamental issue of human life and dignity." Victoria Kovari, acting director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, said there are "certainly some strident voices out there that want to see health care reform abandoned on the back of this issue, but I don't think that is where the bishops are" (Kirkpatrick, New York Times, 8/28).

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