Christians Address Obamacare

Congress 

It is signature legislation on which every person, Christian or not, holds a strong opinion. It is law, based on what is considered, by many of us, to be a basic human right and one that the government owes us access to. We have been told things about it that make it seem a wonderful blessing or, on the other hand, a sinister threat. It has provoked, and continues to cause, much national debate. This law, nicknamed, bears our President Obama's name. We either love it or we hate it.

What Is Affordable Care Act?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare, its nickname, has divided the US before it officially became law. It had been planned years in advance. Even then, many of us were crying, "Repeal Obamacare now!" or "Pass it now to cover all the ininsured!" Insurance companies and employers were required to cover employees. An individual mandate was designed as an incentive to get all covered Americans to buy affordable health insurance through signing up for the ACA. According to your view of what the government's role in providing access to health care should be, you either heartily support the ACA or strongly oppose it. The ACA is based on the core belief that access to health care is the basic human right of every person. If you see health care as a privilege that should remain privatized, you will not support the ACA. This holds true, whether you are in the Christian community or not.

Why is the Affordable Care Act Dividing Us in the US?

Most of us hold strong opinions of Obamacare. If we support it, it's because we hail its positive if imperfect safety net for most of the five million uninsured Americans, formerly unable to access any health care. They could not access health care because of lack of health care coverage through employment, or because they did not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. Supporters hail it as a safety net for young people who can stay on their parents' plan up until age 26, and because insurance companies were required to cover Americans with pre-existing conditions. Those of us who oppose the ACA do so because we fear that it constitutes a "government takeover," that will "take away our liberties." Opponents claim that many uninsured people are healthy people who "do not need health care access yet." Above all, most of us who oppose the ACA fear that it will affect our insurance coverage, whether we have private insurance, are enrolled in a HMO, or use Medicare or Medicaid. The many recent glitches in the ACA website have discredited the ACA and aggravated the already existing opposition of many. But so many in the Christian community object to the ACA based on concerns beyond these, and I have seen posts speaking to this on Facebook.

Christian Concerns About the Affordable Care Act

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I know that many of you don't support Obamacare. I know that many of you object because of what many of us see as moral problems. First of all, the ACA promises to make "women's reproductive health care" accessible to all women covered by the ACA. We know that this term is a euphemism for birth control devices, not only for wives but for every female of any age who requests them "in consultation with her doctor." Worse, though it's unclear (to me) that it indeed does so, the ACA may make "affordable abortions" accessible to any female who wants to "terminate her pregnancy." A growing number in the Christian community believe that the ACA includes a mandate to get human microchip implanting, which they see as the future "Mark of the Beast" that sets the stage for the appearing of the anti-Christ. I have heard and read Christian alarm calls that "the end is very near" and that "this anti-Christian" legislation is proof. I've read about some of these objections and, as well as what human microchiping would do. Yet no evidence exists of any human microchip implantation mandate as part of ACA. Yet I know much fear exists of the ACA in the Christian community.

How Should We Deal With This? All of us should educate ourselves about Obamacare before we pass judgment on it. This holds true no matter who we are. Below you'll find resources that give the facts about the ACA. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should concern ourselves with any moral problems we see in the ACA. We can contact our legislators to include a "religious liberty" clause which lets any health care provider decline to provide birth control devices or abortions, based on faith-based objections. The ACA is law, and fighting against it, if you oppose it, wastes time and energy that could be better spent supporting nonprofits that serve girls and women facing crisis pregnancies, or that serve troubled teens.

I'd much rather shout out for what I'm for than rail against what I may detest. How about you?

Healthcare.gov

Healthcare.gov

Obamacare Facts: Dispelling the Myths

The photo at the top of this post is courtesy of MorgueFile, is by "earl53" and can be found here.

Is the Biochip the Mark of the Beast?