Religious Groups Speak Out On Health Reform

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 08 Oct 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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Several religious organizations have waded into the health reform debate, saying they feel it necessary to represent their members' views in the legislation, Roll Call reports.

For the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention, the main focus has been funding of abortion coverage. "We have something that's affecting every American; we had no choice but to address it," Richard Land, an ethics adviser with SBC, said. Land said that evangelicals are concerned that federal money would be used to pay for abortion procedures under health reform.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also has criticized reproductive health coverage. However, USCCB supports new policies to reduce financial strain on families and has been working to ensure that "immigrants are no worse off after reform," according to policy adviser Kathy Saile.

Meanwhile, the Muslim American Society is pushing for a public option, although the group would prefer a single-payer system, Executive Director Mahdi Bray said. Most Muslims support the public option, Bray said, adding, "From a theological standpoint, it's very similar to other Abrahamic traditions -- the Christians and Jews -- in that we have a responsibility to care for those who are less fortunate."

According to Roll Call, the "abortion issue appears to be dividing the Lutheran community." In August, the president of the conservative wing of the Lutheran faith said in a statement that provisions including public abortion funding could be a deal-breaker for his denomination.

Gerald Kieschnick -- president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the church's conservative wing -- said in a statement that his church "supports the protection and nurture of human life from conception through death." He added that the church "would not endorse any component of a plan that includes funding for abortion" and "would want to prohibit any government money from being used, even indirectly, for insurance that covers abortion."

However, on Tuesday, a domestic policy adviser for the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church of America indicated that ELCA is more focused on cost issues than abortion, saying that both abortion and immigration "should not be used as tools to defeat reform." ELCA spokesperson Bob Francis said, "On abortion, we would be with other groups that support that status quo. We're supportive of reform and, like a lot of groups, in particular, affordability."

Some religious groups have opted to stay out of the fray. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints issued a statement saying that the Mormon church has not taken a position on reform, while the Jewish Council for Public Affairs said it is reserving judgment until a final bill emerges (Murray, Roll Call, 10/7).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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