Cardinal Joseph Bernardin publicly entered the health-care debate Thursday, urging that a national system must begin with “the unserved and the unborn, the uninsured and the undocumented” and provide universal coverage but exclude abortion.
The Chicago prelate told an audience at the National Press Club in Washington that the Roman Catholic Church was willing to join other churches and groups that support universality and oppose abortion coverage. He also expressed a willingness to testify before Congress, if needed, to promote this position.
His speech was a firm but gentle warning to Congress to shelve abortion in its ongoing deliberations on health-care reform. Abortion remains in the background as Congress wrestles with such issues as how to pay for universal health care and how soon it could be implemented.
While Bernardin’s statements put him in step with President Clinton’s call for extensive health-care revision, the senior U.S. Catholic cardinal and leader of 2.3 million Catholics in the Chicago Archdiocese said he cannot support the president’s proposal as long as it includes funding for abortions.
The cardinal said that while a so-called “conscience clause” exempting Catholic hospitals from abortion coverage was essential, it still did not adequately address the problems confronting Catholic institutions and individuals who oppose abortion.
“If you have a system where abortion coverage is mandated you are obligated to pay for it, as a citizen, through the taxes that you pay,” Bernardin said. He pointed out that the Archdiocese of Chicago has more than 20,000 employees, “and I don’t want to have to pay for something that is morally reprehensible.”
Bernardin also questioned whether a “conscience clause” might not ultimately be a disservice to a Catholic hospital. “A Catholic hospital may opt not to provide abortion, but then would it be accepted by whatever network is established in the area?” he asked. “There’s a great fear that such a Catholic hospital might be marginalized.”
Bernardin emphasized that he was not advocating any particular proposal, such as the government-run plan used in Canada.
Citing estimates that nearly 40 million Americans have no health insurance, while another 50 million are underinsured, the cardinal said, “We can no longer tolerate being the only Western nation that leaves millions of persons uncovered.”
But he acknowledged that health-care costs must be contained at the same time coverage is extended to all segments of society. And, he said, that will require sacrifices, such as government cutting bureaucratic waste, businesses and individuals paying more for health care, refraining from some elective medical procedures, and people taking better care of their health.
Noting that many Americans view such proposals as “the often explosive concept of rationing,” Bernardin said, “I prefer a different word and a different concept: `stewardship.’ ” He said that approach calls for putting the common good ahead of individual rights.
“We are a nation that is increasingly overly individualistic at the very time when the problems we face require greater common effort and collective response,” he said.
The cardinal did not specify what health-care services should be restricted. But abortion and assisted euthanasia clearly were procedures he felt should not be covered by any government plan. He also decried “the ethically unacceptable withholding of care based on `quality of life’ criteria.”
With an estimated 15 percent of all U.S. hospital beds being in Catholic institutions serving 43 million people a year, the church has a sizable practical stake in the national health-care system.
The U.S. bishops adopted a comprehensive resolution on health care at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops last year in New Orleans. As a follow-up, the Illinois Catholic Conference distributed brochures to all parishes in the state.
Although Bernardin said he had come to Washington on his own, he had consulted with the other bishops in the preparation of his speech during the last 10 weeks.
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