Minneapolis, Minn., Sep 27, 2009 / 00:54 am
The Catholic bishops of the United States have continually emphasized that the right to adequate health care “flows from the sanctity of human life,” a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin bishops has noted.
Minnesota Catholic Conference policy director Alexandra Fitzsimmons has said that previous documents of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on health care are relevant to the present debate about proposals for reform, the Catholic Spirit reports.
“We cannot let go of the principle that really is why we believe that health care is a basic right,” she said.
Health care reform without respect for life is “empty,” she remarked, which is why Catholics cannot compromise on the abortion issue.
A 1993 USCCB resolution, titled “A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform,” stated that everyone has a right to “adequate health care.”