A Soulless Assault On The Unalienable Right To Life

         The unalienable right to life is the fundamental teaching of the Church. It is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence as an endowment to all men. This God-given right demands unyielding protection of the church and state.

         In 650 BC the Council of Elders in the City-State of Sparta decreed- for the common good-ailing seniors and infants be taken to hillsides to die. Today for the common good advanced nations also deny care to ailing seniors, the disabled and infants. Catholic spoke persons who advocate government health care know this. They have an obligation to inform the faithful that health coverage is not health care.  The so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama is a soulless assault on the unalienable right to life. This 2700 page womb to tomb government takeover of health care is opposed by a majority of Americans, especially seniors. George Wesolek the director of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Office of Public policy accuses  opponents of "bad theology and partisan political activity." (CSF Dec.10)  He is wrong.

         The fiercely partisan former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid badgered and bribed their Democratic majority to pass- unread- this unwanted government intrusion on every American. Their personal pro-abortion theology now will unleash faceless bureaucrats, boards and commissions on a health system that has done more for the common good than any other.     

         Catholic leaders also know that access to a waiting list is not health care. Over 40,000 patients a year from Canada and thousands more from the European Union, including heads of state, seek treatment in the U.S. that is unavailable or inferior in their homeland. In Great Britain the National Health Service bases treatment on  age and condition of the patient- called Quality Adjusted Life Years. Britain and other E.U. nations also deny renal dialysis and advanced drugs to the elderly and terminally ill. In the Netherlands The Royal Dutch Medical Association has endorsed euthanasia and permits lethal injection of newborns diagnosed  unable to have a meaningful life.  

         Every diocesan office of public policy knows the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cuts $500 billion from Medicare and will restrict diagnoses and treatments for older patients. They also know  the administration has reinstated its previously withdrawn plan for end-of-life counseling by Doctors. It  can encourage patients with severe illnesses and disabilities to forgo care and  justify restricting costly life-sustaining treatment to such patients. The White House special advisor for health policy, Ezekiel Emmanuel, MD has stated: "Whether to save one 20 year old who could live an additional  60 years or three 70 year olds who could live only 10 years-- We recommend the system which prioritizes younger people." (British Medical Journal, June 2009)   

         George Wesolek acknowledges this health plan has fundamental flaws and hopes the new Congress will clarify it. The aged, disabled, and terminally ill deserve more than feckless hope for clarification; they want this immoral intrusion repealed and rewritten to protect their unalienable right to life. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and every diocese in America must boldly defend this fundamental teaching of the church. It is affirmed by Pope John Paul II and re-affirmed by Pope Benedict XVI -and hallowed in the Declaration of Independence.    

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