Dear HLI Family,
During his historic visit to Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI, the Vicar of Christ, stood in the face of an entrenched political system that undermines the dignity of the human person, and called for change. Moved by love for God's people, the Holy Father simply proclaimed what the Church has said for generations: Jesus came that all might have life and have it to its fullest.
As I reflected on his prophetic statements, I thought of Blessed John Paul II in his invitation to the Polish people in June 1979. Both men, with apostolic zeal and unyielding faith, stood among their brothers and sisters and called for a peaceful but radical change in direction in order to obtain true freedom and peace.
We should stop and take notice of the Holy Father's words as our own beloved nation finds itself in a battle over religious liberty and freedom.
The right to freedom of religion, both in its private and in its public dimension, manifests the unity of the human person, who is at once a citizen and a believer. It also legitimizes the fact that believers have a contribution to make to the building up of society. Strengthening religious freedom consolidates social bonds, nourishes the hope of a better world, creates favorable conditions for peace and harmonious development, while at the same time establishing solid foundations for securing the rights of future generations. (Homily on March 28, 2012)
Even in our own country, many reject this fundamental truth and its historical foundation. Instead, the Obama administration, with the full support of the mainstream media, is attempting to impose upon all citizens a mandate that requires religious institutions, regardless of their objections, to pay for contraceptive abortifacients and sterilization.
Imagine if this policy is upheld. If we can blatantly ignore the Constitution and its First Amendment, then we can reject other components as well. That is why nine Supreme Court Justices find themselves at the center of the debate over the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), and its initial mandate -- that everyone be required to purchase health insurance or face penalties. Their deliberations and final decision will affect each citizen, each religious and secular institution.
If these issues were not enough to raise our concerns, then last week's announcement about a third mandate -- an "abortion surcharge" -- should concern us even more. This new government mandate once again forces pro-lifers to pay for abortion. We should not be surprised by this since the Affordable Care Act affords unrestricted power to governmental agencies to impose such overreaching policies.
What is the new mandate? They are forcing insurance companies who cover abortion to charge everyone on the plan to pay a minimum of $1 per month, in what critics are calling an "abortion surcharge." Secondly, the insurance company is only allowed to tell the purchaser about the surcharge in the small print of the initial contract. Afterwards, it is to be neatly and anonymously folded into other chargers thus creating an enormous slush fund for free or cheap abortions.
How deceptive! The Obama administration, in a manipulative attempt to covertly remove itself from directly funding abortion passes such funding to insurance companies and to their clients, forcing unsuspecting pro-lifers and people of conscience to pay for abortion. Again our government is showing its clear desire to fund abortion and force us to pay for it. The administration is underhandedly switching the focus from a mandate directed at individuals to one directed at insurance companies, as if we won't notice and be will duped into thinking that we are no longer funding abortion.
If the Affordable Care Act is not found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court or repealed by a realigned congress, and rejected by a new president next year, we should expect that these governmental intrusions and impositions would continue and more vulnerable human lives will be taken. An example is the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), the 15-person unelected board of "experts" who will be making life and death decisions for those whose health care becomes too expensive to be deemed worthy of coverage, especially those who are most vulnerable -- the elderly and severely disabled.
Those who raise the alarm about this already-existing "death panel" are being called fear mongers. But are we? Let's look at the state of Oregon. Patients have already been offered physician assisted suicide as a course of treatment, when there were life-saving treatments available that were more expensive. What is to stop the "death mandate" from following on the heels of mandates to purchase health care, contraception and abortion?
Or consider a more fundamental question: Once we give our government the power to force huge portions of society to do things they cannot do in good conscience, will we be able to maintain the determination to fight back against each new injustice?
The Catholic Church teaches that every human being, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death, possesses an inherent dignity demanding that life be protected, no matter how vulnerable. We now have rulers -- not representatives, rulers -- in this country who emphatically disagree with the Church on this essential point of natural law. We must stand against these affronts to human dignity and to our rights as U.S. citizens and as Christians.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
