One could easily believe that Mr. Schindler’s heart was literally broken by the cruelty he witnessed against his precious Terri.
May we never forget the evil ones who tormented that family!
Lord, bring her perpetrators to justice in our lifetimes . . .
Thread by RnMomof7.
WASHINGTON — Although churches have dispensed health care in Europe since the fourth century and in North America for at least 350 years, the Obama administration has just stepped forward with its own definition of what constitutes a rel i g i o u s -o r i e n t ed health institution.
Briefly, the legal definition to be used for the 2010 Affordable Care Act is that a truly religious hospital or clinic hires only those who believe in that faith and admits for treatment only fellow believers.
So-called Obamacare would define a religious hospital or clinic that — using an imaginary example — hires and treats only those who followed Swedenborgianism, or in another instance, supplicants of the Rosy Cross.
More to the point, the proposed rule poses a massive conscience problem for the more than 630 Catholic hospitals, and for Catholic health professionals, in the United States.
Congress has refused many efforts to pass such a proviso. President Obama himself pledged in the health care fight there would be no more assaults on freedom of conscience for religious institutions and professionals.
Yet this new restriction is in a regulation published by Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services that will become law after the completion of a comment period on Sept. 30.
In reality, no such hiring or admission limitations exist in any American hospital, dispensary or health insurance program — whether religious, government, voluntary or for-profit. If any hospitals abided by this severely narrow definition, they could in many states and municipalities be denied Medicare or Medicaid money, and federal construction loans.
“Religious gerrymandering” is what lawyers for the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called the proposed rule in a detailed comment filed with HHS last week.
The rule, 45CFR Part 147, centers on the mandate that all citizens buy health insurance by 2014. It requires, according to the bishops, all Americans to pay for insurance coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and medicines the bishops believe prompt abortions — processes that conflict with traditional Catholic belief. The bishops urged Obama to scrap the regulation.
Asked for a reaction, HHS spokesman Keith Maley said, “We welcome comment to ensure that we have struck an appropriate balance between access to preventive services and respect for religious beliefs.” It’s true that the bishops’ power is sapped because of ongoing scandals over clerical sex abuse worldwide. But answers to exactly why Obama chose this place in his pock-marked political landscape to open up a brand-new front in the culture wars with traditional Christians may be found only on the analyst’s couch.
Helen Alvarez, a law professor at George Mason University, thinks she has part of the answer. A circle of secularists that Obama has placed in the top ranks of HHS to draft new regulations, she says, just can’t help themselves.
“They live in a bubble,” said Alvarez, a longtime pro-life advocate. “This circle does not rate religion as a positive force. They don’t want religious [health care] providers in the public square any more. This administration is trying to function in every place where it can make it difficult for people to act on their deep-seated beliefs.”
Proponents would call it tolerance. But if the HHS rule is affirmed as written, the bishops and others will surely take it to the Supreme Court and their litigation will be piled on to the other challenges to Obamacare.
Some traditional Catholics and evangelicals are urging Congress to pass H. R. 1179, which applies freedom of conscience protection to the entire Affordable Care Act. Introduced in March, the bill has only 50 sponsors, none from Western New York. Neither New York Democratic senator supports the Senate companion.