Speaking and Acting on Health Care Reform
People of faith have always understood our responsibilities to include the obligation to bring health to all, and healing to the sick and infirm. It is in that spirit that today, I stand here with my distinguished Christian colleagues, with optimism and determination, that we are on the cusp of fundamentally changing the way that Americans ensure health care to all.
—Rabbi David Saperstein
Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 15, 2009
WHY THIS STORY IS IMPORTANT: There are many ways to frame public policy issues, and people of faith seem to have been working harder than ever this year to ensure that the moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions of social problems are articulated and included in civil discussion. In the United States, health care reform has been a divisive and rancorous process, but faith communities have sustained their witness to justice, fairness and respectful debate.
Put the words "interfaith health care reform" into a search engine and you will get a couple hundred thousand links to the thoughts and actions of individuals, congregations and interfaith efforts across the country.
Below is brief selection of excerpts and sources to illustrate the role of people of faith in this issue that is critical to the well-being of all citizens, but especially to those most in need:
We, the undersigned, serve several religious and spiritual communities across the Tampa Bay. Our faith traditions teach us that care and compassion for the sick and injured is a basic human responsibility rooted in the foundational principle of affirming human worth and dignity. We believe that the crisis of American health care is not merely an economic or social or political problem — it is a moral problem that confronts us all. As people of faith, we envision a society where each person is afforded human dignity, health, and wholeness.
The United States — the richest nation in the world — is home to millions of people who do not have access to needed health care. For those affected, this is a personal and medical crisis; for others it is an economic or political crisis. But because we have the capacity to solve the problem and won’t, for all of us it is a moral crisis which calls for moral and prophetic leadership from the faith community. History shows that voices of faith are integral to the success of social reform movements in this country, and the effort to make affordable quality health care for all a reality in this country will be no exception. Given that the deliberative bodies of many faith groups support guaranteed needed health care for everyone, it is clear that there is a vision for faith-based leadership on this issue – leadership that speaks both within the religious community in particular and to the public at large.
The first religious principle at stake is compassion. We must be a strong, persistent voice that reminds our nation and our leaders that compassion is central to all major faith traditions. We must insist that health care reform protects those without political clout: children, the poor, the disabled, the elderly. To stand on the side of love is to stand with those who are on the margins.
The Torah does not outline specific public policies around the provision of health care, but it does make it clear that protecting the health of each human being is a profoundly important personal and communal responsibility for people of faith. Throughout the Torah, God shows a special concern for the vulnerable and sick and acts to lift them up. The Torah also teaches God's command that society organize in such a way that all members have genuine access to the resources needed to live a dignified life, as well as provide for those who are unable to care for themselves. It is for this reason that Maimonides, a revered Jewish physician and scholar, listed health care first on his list of the ten most important communal services that a city had to offer to its residents ....
There are approximately 46 million Americans who are without adequate healthcare and health insurance. Many of these people are children who come from households that live below the poverty level. It is a negative reflection upon our society that we are unwilling or unable to care for the weakest among us, and it is important that we, as Christian people, call upon our elected leaders to affect a change that will bring health and justice to those most vulnerable . As many of our congregations work to bring adequate health care to our communities, they serve as a model of compassion for our elected leaders. This resolution calls upon those most able to affect change to make a difference.