Letter to Ed - Obamacare

President Obama's single-payer Health Care as a National mandated “right” violates the Catholic principle of subsidiarity, that problems should be addressed at the local level. This alone is reason enough for Catholics to oppose this form of Socialism. The government does not need to run these programs – think Cash for Clunkers, Fannie Mae, and the lines at the Registry of Motor Vehicles – especially when simply mandating that insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions coupled with tort reform and electronic medical record keeping could save millions of dollars (and who knows how many lives).

But ObamaCare is not just about subsidiarity, it's about government control of the very dignity of our lives: who gets what in terms of health benefits. We should all feel the chill at the idea that a “death panel” of bureaucrats will review every pill, hip replacement, chemotherapy and transplant. They look to save money on the backs of our grandparents and less-than-perfect children.

Finally, because of an implicit right to government-funded abortion in all of the versions of ObamaCare, I hope that other successors to the Apostles will join with Justin Cardinal Rigali, Bishop William F. Murphy, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, who have spoken out strongly against these bills. It's time for all of us to speak out, before it is too late.

Sincerely,

Jay G