Fargo, N.D., Sep 1, 2009 / 04:11 am
Bishop of Fargo, North Dakota Samuel J. Aquila has written a letter encouraging priests, deacons, vowed religious and laymen to become engaged in promoting “genuine health care reform.” His letter presents four principles on which to evaluate legislative proposals for health care plans.
He said health care plans must exclude any provisions which deny “the dignity of human life,” such as abortion, passive or active euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research. It would be “inherently inconsistent” to expand access to health care without safeguarding human life from conception onward, Bishop Aquila wrote.
“True health care begins with the unborn child in the womb,” he explained. “When a given plan to provide care fails to protect that life, it is no longer animated by a source of truth and justice, thus it will not, and cannot, flourish.”
Killing unborn children, he continued, has “nothing to do with promoting health.”
The bishop listed conscience protection as another important facet of health care for health care professionals, participants in health care plans, and society in general.