Son,

I just saw President Bush on TV stating that he believes, “…health care should be private because medical decisions should be between the patient and their doctor…” Whoa – Where did I hear that before?

I don’t think the President was aware of what he was saying. President Bush just presented the fundamental argument for abortion. Health care is between the patient and her doctor – the government should stay out of it. There is real danger any direction we go with this one.

I was working in the local Police Station in 1970. Late one night we received a call that a body was laying in an alley. There was an immediate alarm and a quick response because this alley was located in a prosperous neighborhood. The first officers to arrive called for an ambulance – but it was too late – the coroner was next on the call list. The body was that of a 25 year old woman. Blood was everywhere.

The coroner’s report said she died of a botched illegal abortion. We will never know her motive in seeking the avenue that led to her death. We do know that she was not well served. Not well served by her family, her church, her community, her government, or her health care system. We can only imagine the emotional distress that led to her choices. We can only imagine her sense of abandonment by all who were supposed to love her and care about her. She took the road of lonely despair, and the grim reaper was waiting.

Two years later Roe V. Wade sanctioned legal and clinical abortion. People of my generation and that of my parents breathed a sigh of relief – perhaps we would no longer find dead bodies in alleys. The change in the legal status of abortion has become a disaster for our country. The use of abortion as a means of birth control rises to the level of insanity. Government sanctioned insanity.

No one wants government intervention into our lives. No One! Not liberals or conservatives, Democrats or Republicans, religious or atheist, no one! The Government should rightly be our last source of support – but it should be there in that last moment of despair.

The problem is not with the government – the problem sits directly on the shoulders of mean spirited families, heavy handed unforgiving churches, and local communities that refuse to take care of their own. Every single piece of social legislation ever passed by the Federal Government was in response to a problem that locals refused to take care of. It is truly maddening that we, as humane people, are forced to legislate health care.

Here is my message to religious evangelical fundamentalists who are opposed to government intervention – where were you? Where were you when your parishioner was sick, was troubled, was in despair? You ran them off with your righteous indignation – your judgment – your crass selfishness. You were busy building your tabernacle – your super churches – your television career. I see you ranting on Sunday Morning Television – but I don’t see you stepping up to the plate and addressing the real problems.

So the government has correctly identified a need and the representatives of government are correctly addressing that need. You religious folks did not care about the real problems – so keep your noses out of the real solutions!

You are right President Bush, “…health care should be private because medical decisions should be between the patient and their doctor…”

Dad

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