CCC President Issues Health Care Statement (Spanish translation included)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Date: October 6, 2009
CONTACT: Steve Pehanich 916/313-4014 or Carol Hogan 916/313-4019
HEALTHCARE REFORM MUST PROTECT
HUMAN LIFE AND DIGNITY
The following statement is from the Most Reverend Stephen E. Blaire, President of the California Catholic Conference:
The bishops of California have been watching with interest, anticipation and frankly, concern, as healthcare reform is debated in our nation’s capital. For more than three decades, American Catholic bishops have been calling for universal healthcare—and it appears that we are now closer to that reality than ever before. For that we are grateful.
However, the bills that have either passed out of committee or are poised to do so have failed to adequately protect human life and dignity.
At this time, we join our brother bishops from across the nation in urging lawmakers to support reforms that:
- Insure that healthcare is affordable and accessible to all
- Exclude mandated coverage for abortion
- Uphold the status quo ban on federal funding of abortion services
- Protect conscience rights of healthcare providers
- Safeguard the health of legal immigrants, their children and all of society
We also ask our Catholics and people of good will to join us now in urging our Senators and Members of Congress to protect basic human life and dignity in any national healthcare plan as they hammer out the details of this far-reaching and needed reform.
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