Listen to bishops on health care reform

What would Jesus do? Much has been said in the debate about health care reform concerning the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposition to federal funding for abortion.

Less has been said about their strong and long standing support for health care reform that respects human life from conception to death. These concerns were outlined in a July 17 letter from Bishop William Murphy to Congress. In that letter, Bishop Murphy did address the issue of abortion, which is a central concern for the Catholic Church but he also explicitly called out the importance of universal access to health care, not as a privilege but as "a right and a requirement to protect the life and dignity of every person".

Bishop Murphy's letter goes on to say that "All people need and should have access to comprehensive, quality health care that they can afford, and it should not depend on their stage of life, where or whether they or their parents work, how much they earn, where they live, or where they were born".

This commentary gets to the heart of the issue that Congress is failing to deal with right now.

Because of an arcane senate rule and a lack of leadership from the Senate Democratic majority, this important reform is in danger of failing which will leave the poor, the vulnerable and the less fortunate in our society waiting for perhaps another two decades to realize this most basic of human rights. It is time for Democrats to find the moral strength to make this reform happen. It is time for the Republicans to either get on board to improve the bill in a bipartisan manner or get out of the way and let justice flow to the people who so desperately need this reform.

Niall McShane

Arlington Heights