Health care needs to be available for all. The rapid and remarkable development of health care has resulted in our country enjoying an unprecedented high standard of care. This care must be available for all and not for only a segment of society. The Lord has taught us that on the last day, when we stand before God, one of the questions God will ask us is whether, "When I was sick did you comfort me?" (Matthew 25:36) Our health care must be as broadly available as possible and not be limited only to those able to afford it.
Health care policies must respect human life, especially the elderly and the pre-born. Any health policy which provides taxpayer dollars for killing babies through abortion, and any health care policy that seeks to lower medical costs by withholding or limiting care for the elderly, is simply not worthy of the United States or any civilized society.
Freedom of conscience, both for individuals and institutions, must be respected. No health care policy is moral which compels doctors and health care workers to perform procedures which violate their conscience. For example, no medical student, nurse, or physician can be forced, or penalized for a refusal, to participate in an abortion. The law must protect the right of conscience for health workers. Similarly, institutions must be protected from any coercion to perform medical procedures which violates the moral standards of the institution. For example, Catholic hospitals and nursing homes cannot be forced to perform abortions or end the lives of the elderly through euthanasia.
