Church in the World

Abortion funding may block United States health care reform

CATHOLIC organisations throughout the US are backing major health care reforms that could lead to universal access to health care, but fear they may have to withdraw their support if lawmakers vote to use government funds for abortions for the first time.

Under the American system, citizens purchase health insurance from private companies, usually through their employer, but 40 million Americans have none. Government insurance programmes cover health care costs for the elderly and the poor, but these are facing bankruptcy as the cost of health care mounts. The reforms would provide subsidies for those without insurance to purchase it at reasonable rates.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement on 17 July reaffirming the Church’s commitment to universal health insurance, which they have been lobbying for since the 1940s, when it was first proposed. “In our Catholic tradition, health care is a basic human right,” the statement began. “Access to health care should not depend on where a person works, how much a family earns, or where a person lives.” Three days later, the USCCB issued an “Action Alert” to Catholics, calling on them to support health care reform but also insisting that it not include government funding for abortions.

Much of the health care debate has focused on the creation of a “federal option” that would permit any American to buy into the insurance offered to federal employees. Private insurers complain the federal plan, which is not for profit, would undercut them. But just as problematic is the issue of whether or not a federal option would cover abortion ser­vices. Most private insurance plans cover such services but the federal Government has banned the use of government money for abortion since 1976. A Senate Committee last week defeated an effort to keep the ban on abortion funding, but other congressional committees are still working on the legislation.

Dr Stephen Schneck, director of the Life Cycle Institute at the Catholic University of America, argued that using government funds for abortion would “compromise chances for passage of already precarious health care legislation” and “re-alienate the Catholic and Evangelical middle voters of America’s religious politics and give the [Republicans] real hope of winning them back”. Dr Schneck serves on the Board of Directors of the advocacy group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, one of many Catholic organisations backing the health care reform effort.

Catholic hospitals and clinics stand to benefit indirectly from the reforms because they often care for those without insurance. Under the reforms, everyone would have insurance and so the Catholic health care providers will recoup those costs. No reform proposals aim to force Catholic hospitals to provide ser­vices that they object to on moral grounds.