Posted on 08/18/2009 8:54:47 AM PDT by Always Right
One aspect of this health care debate that is not receiving much attention is how this massive health care will affect religious provided health facilities. About 10% of the nation’s hospitals are owned by the Catholic Church. Many states have heartburn with some of the exemption clauses that the Catholic Churches have, and have tried to force these religion institutions to provide care that they have conscious objections to like abortions and birth control.
When health care dollars are completely under the umbrella of federal regulation, what will that mean for the religious freedom of these hospital and health care providers? If the legal standards are applied to hospitals like they are applied to schools, we are in a world of trouble. If a priest enters hospital which completely relies on government controlled funding, I can not see how the priest would even be allowed to pray for patients? Graduation prayers have essentially been outlawed in any location that has an active ACLU chapter, even those given by students. What would make government-funded Hospitals any different?
This is a major issue with people on their death beds. Many of these people don’t have the ability to leave the premise to go to a church. They will be stuck in place where religious expression is effectively forbidden. Sure when politicians are selling this health care plan they will assure us this won’t be the case, but with the legal precedents that have been established, how can they?
COmments?
It is just what the RATS and the ACLU want to have happen. The separation of church and citizenry.
And yet to my amazement, the CHA and USCCB are stridently in support of government run ‘healthcare’.
Stupid. This will lead to Catholic institutions to either provide abortion and birth control or shut their doors.
Both are interesting, from washingtonpost.com and prospect.org. Both were a little more encouraging than the "strident support" issue you raised.
So what is CHA?
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