The chairman of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee has taken exception to what President Obama says is a “core ethical and moral obligation” to restructure the nation’s healthcare system.
Tony BeamTony Beam, an ordained Baptist minister who directs the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville University and is a conservative blogger and radio talk show host, said Obama’s “moral obligation” claim went “too far” in calling on religious leaders to support his efforts at healthcare reform.
In an Aug. 19 conference call and webcast, Obama told a group of religious leaders and reporters: “This debate over healthcare goes to the heart of who we are as a people. I believe that nobody in America should be denied basic healthcare because he or she lacks health insurance. I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. And in the wealthiest nation in the world right now, we are neglecting to live up to that call.”
Before the president made his comments, Beam had been talking about healthcare reform in terms of a political issue on his radio show, he said. President Obama has “opened the door” to a moral debate, Beam said.
“I take issue with the fact that the president basically is saying, if you’re going to be a good, moral Christian leader, you’re going to get behind me and this healthcare reform,” Beam said. “I disagree. I think you can be a good, moral Christian leader and oppose healthcare reform in its current form. There are things about the current healthcare bill that are immoral.”
Beam said he opposes the House bill currently under consideration because he believes it will lead to public funding for abortion and will involve government “panels” in end-of-life decisions.
“If a person wants to talk about a living will or consult with their doctor, I think that’s completely appropriate,” Beam said. “I think it’s immoral for the government to get involved in any way, whether it’s mandatory or whether these are just going to be folks that are available.”
During the conference call, Obama reiterated his assertion that the plan would not permit government funding for abortion.
He also said a provision in the House legislation that would allow Medicare to reimburse someone who voluntarily sought counseling on how to set up a living will for the end of life has been misrepresented. Some opponents have charged that the government would establish “death panels” for end-of-life decisions. Beam said he thinks the term “death panels” is an “exaggeration.”
He said fears of government intrusion, nevertheless, are not irrational. “I’m concerned that five or 10 years down the road, those panels are going to become mandatory, that they’re going to be the ones informing the insurance providers what they can or can’t cover based on someone’s age.”
Countering Obama’s assertion that healthcare reform will not include government funding for abortion, Beam said, “They’re going to have to change the basic bill if they’re going to make that true. The president is saying a lot of things about the bill that are incorrect.”
Some 140,000 people participated in the conference call, according to information at faithforhealth.org, the coalition of more than 30 faith-based groups that organized the event, which was streamed live over the Web.
Beam said that few, if any, conservative faith-based groups, were part of the conference call. “Most of them were leaders that lean more to the left,” he said. “I just want people in South Carolina to know that when they read a headline that says ‘Christian leaders line up behind President Obama’s healthcare reform,’ that doesn’t necessarily represent evangelical conservative Christians.”
Beam said he is not opposed to making healthcare access “better for everybody.” He favors a tax credit of up to $5,000 for people who don’t have insurance through their jobs or who can’t afford a private plan.
“I’m much more comfortable letting a free-market solution come to the forefront than I am a government solution,” he said. “Any time the government gets this involved in our lives, it ends up being a loss of freedom.”
Beam made his comments following an Aug. 20 meeting of the SCBC’s Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee in Columbia. The committee did not issue a statement after its meeting, but Beam said “the general tenor of the discussion went along these lines.”