Midlands Voices: Universal care not a commodity

The writer, of Omaha, is an associate professor of theology at Creighton University, where he teaches Catholic social thought. He is currently on sabbatical in El Salvador. The opinions in this essay are his own and not an official stance by the university.

It has been interesting to watch the Roman Catholic Church try to find its voice when discussing President Barack Obama’s latest push for universal health care.

Catholic Charities and the Catholic Health Association have come out solidly in favor of universal health care, and this past summer the National Council of Catholic Bishops published a commentary on its Web site from the Rev. Douglas Clark of Savannah, Ga., arguing that the country now rationed “health care on the basis of wealth.”

Conversely, we have comments by Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City, Iowa, which indicate a reversal of support for universal health care. He was quoted in an Aug. 28 New York Times article titled “Some Roman Catholic Bishops Assail Health Plan.”

According to Bishop Nickless, “The Catholic Church does not teach that government should directly provide health care” and “any legislation that undermines the vitality of the private sector is suspect.”

In the same article from the Times, Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., noted that “we strongly oppose inclusion of abortion as part of a national health care benefit.” But he emphasized the priority the church placed on coverage for the poor, calling health care “not a privilege but a right.” None of the bills, to my knowledge, provides for funding for abortion.

Who then speaks for the Catholic tradition when it comes to Catholic teaching and universal health care? I would suggest that the tradition of Catholic social thought does.

This tradition, comprised of papal encyclicals and Episcopal letters from around the world, has a long and robust history of suggesting that a representative government should provide for the common good of its people. More specifically, the common good requires that health care be understood as a basic human right.

The primary principle within Catholic social teaching, from which most of the other principles ensue, is the common good. Catholic social teaching is formally a social vision, seeking to define the common good for a community of people, based on an understanding of Scripture and Christian tradition.

As the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops states it, the central question should not be, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” It should be, “How can ‘we’ — all of us, especially the weak and vulnerable — be better off in the years ahead?”

Catholic social teaching views the promotion of the common good as the real purpose of human community, especially through its political institutions — institutions that serve to realize the common good.

From a Catholic perspective, society is not supposed to be a contractual partnership of essentially separate individuals, as it is often viewed and experienced within the United States. It is instead a partnership in the pursuit of goods that are best realized and fulfilled in common.

A basic level of health care among all members of a society is necessary for a community to genuinely and truly flourish. Health care facilities and the treatment they provide are not just commodities for those with substantial financial resources to buy and sell.

Catholic social teaching’s commitment to the common good as the most basic principle of a political institution challenges the self-interested orientation that is manifest in a radical free-market perspective — a perspective the Catholic Church has been very critical of in many of its documents.

It is in this orientation that health care becomes a commodity like other consumer goods whose allocation is solely determined by who can afford to pay, rather than by right and necessity. These goods are meant to be shared and distributed in an even fashion, working toward the better health of all and contributing to the standard of health for the entire community.

Finally, there are very strong arguments that universal health care could actually reduce the number of abortions — a concern of the Catholic bishops as they evaluate any possible reform. Recall that around 40 percent of abortions occur with poor women unable or unwilling to bear the cost of having a child.

When we as a people can diminish the financial argument for anyone seeking an abortion — something universal health care would do — we will have embraced and made a significant contribution toward realizing a culture of life.