Your series of commentaries on health care reform has been interesting, but the latest, by Tony Magliano (CR, Dec. 10) was bizarre. As he has done before, Magliano criticizes that nebulous crowd of “many Catholics” out there who don’t measure up to his standard. He points out the urgent need to call politicians to prevent us being forced to pay for abortions, but then throws in a plea to provide health coverage to illegal aliens.
This is a continuation of the distortion of the “seamless garment” concept that has been exploited since the 1990s to shame Catholics into adhering to all the social programs that the Democratic National Committee supports. Sadly, that political strategy, designed to win new voters in ethnic groups, completely disdains the right to life of the unborn, as well as the rights of those who want to protect them.
The “life-and-death struggle” that is foremost on the agenda of our Catholic bishops is totally about abortion. Magliano’s favoring of one group of uninsured is divisive of Catholics, and only makes it easier for the abortion industry to pass the bill it prefers.