The Affordable Health Care Act and Euthanasia

Transcription

1 The Affordable Health Care Act and Euthanasia Well, the title alone probably tells you what I m thinking in this article, but I ll embellish anyways. I sense the confluence of several strong forces coming together that will significantly challenge how Christians manage their businesses in the coming years. There will be significant tradeoff choices that will reveal who we are as individuals and what we really value. The Affordable Health Care Act more commonly known as ObamaCare is a symptom of a larger problem in our culture, but will be the vehicle through which Christian business owners may be forced to make difficult choices. In this post, I ll discuss a long-forgotten work by Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop, then connect their thinking and predictions to what is probably (in my estimation) in Obamacare and then end with an outline of the key challenges that those of us who are disciples of Jesus Christ will likely face. In all honesty, I hope that I m wrong in the predictive points in this post. But I posit this information as a way for our society to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask if this is what we seriously want our country to be like. In the revised copy of Schaeffer s book, Whatever Happened to the Human Race, Koop joins Schaeffer in discussing critical beliefs in America in the early 80 s. Nearly 30 years later, we are dangerously close to reaping the fruits of seeds sown back in the 60 s and 70 s. I ll quote at length from several sections of their book: The human life issues will define our own time. For far from being only single issues, abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia strike at the heart of our most basic beliefs about God and man. The way in which we ultimately decide them will determine the future for all of us. As Mother

2 Teresa has said, If a mother can kill her own children, then what can be next? Indeed, what can be next for all of us? If we can take one life because it does not measure up to our standards of perfection, what is to stop us from taking any life-simply for our own convenience? Abortion and infanticide are only the beginning steps on a slippery slope that will lead to death for all but the planned and perfect members of our society. Francis A. Schaeffer;C. Everett Koop. Whatever Happened to the Human Race? (Revised Edition) (Kindle Locations 40-45). Kindle Edition. Abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia are not only questions for women and other relatives directly involvednor are they the prerogatives of a few people who have thought through the wider ramifications. They are lifeand-death issues that concern the whole human race and should be addressed as such. Putting pressure on the public and on legislators to accept a lower view of human beings, small groups of people often argue their case by using a few extreme examples to gain sympathy for ideas and practices that later are not limited to extreme cases. These then become the common practice of the day. Abortion, for example, has moved from something once considered unusual and now in many cases is an accepted form of birth control. Infanticide is following the same pattern. The argument begins with people who have a socalled vegetative existence. There then follows a tendency to expand the indications and eliminate almost any child who is unwanted for some reason. The same movement can be seen with euthanasia. The arguments now being put forward center on the miserable person in old age-one dying of cancer, for instance. But once the doors are open, there is no reason why the aged, weak, and infirm will not find that as they become economic burdens they will be eliminated under one pretext or another.

3 Francis A. Schaeffer;C. Everett Koop. Whatever Happened to the Human Race? (Revised Edition) (Kindle Locations ). Kindle Edition. The concern about euthanasia and the use of that term in our common vocabulary lead to a degradation of the elderly and, ultimately, to inferior health care for the elderlyas well as encouraging the thought that those who do not want to shuffle off quickly are somehow failing in their contribution to society. Economic considerations then creep in, and old folks are made to feel-in this crazy, schizophrenic society of ours-that they are in some way depriving younger and more deserving people of the medical care that is now being provided them at the same cost. For example, one of the undersecretaries of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare suggested in 1977 that the various states that did not enact living-will legislation be penalized by having withdrawn or curtailed the federal funds that would ordinarily supplement state funds allocated for certain major programs. Francis A. Schaeffer;C. Everett Koop. Whatever Happened to the Human Race? (Revised Edition) (Kindle Locations ). Kindle Edition. Now, consider the reporting that questioned whether or not Vice President Dick Cheney should have received his heart transplant, given how old he is. Because ObamaCare will ultimately ration health care based on political factors that try to answer the question about who should receive care relative to age and/or habit, we can be confident that these decisionswill be life and death decisions that are based on political considerations. I m telling you now: ObamaCare coupled with our lack of commitment to following God, will lead to euthanasia because old people will be deemed not worthy of expensive care because of their diminished utility and value to society. Just

4 like babies are killed in the womb for the convenience of the mother, elderly people who need expensive care to keep living will be cast aside perhaps nicely but still cast aside and denied the care they need because it will be deemed too expensive and/or an impairment on the care of someone else who is more useful to society. And God forbid that the care of the elderly inconvenience anyone in this it s all about me age. As costs (predictably) skyrocket for health care once the government is in full control, we ll find that the concepts of euthanasia will become more and more acceptable to society. It might take another years, but it will become acceptable. Add to this the coming wars between the generations as the older folks demand the goodies and benefits from the government that they believe they are entitled to and the younger generation fighting tooth and nail to not have their taxes raised anymore to pay for programs that are obviously going bankrupt. Folks, I m not usually a pessimist, but I see significant class, generational and health care warfare emerging in the county in the coming 30 years. It will not surprise me at all if many in their 40 s and 50 s including myself will find ourselves in the middle of a storm as politicians continue to pit groups against each other based on class, income, health care, generational issues and so forth. And the timing and method of the ending of our lives may rest in the hands of a bureaucrat whose job it is to figure out who should and should not receive immediate care due to scarce resources and government mandates. What does the Bible have to say about all of this? Briefly, in the Scriptures we find that: The younger members of a family should look after the elderly in their family and the church should look after widows who are unable to provide for themselves. The

5 church has allowed itself to neglect clear teaching from the Bible because they have forfeited their responsibility to the government. Retirement is not a Biblical concept. American Christians have bought into the lie that they deserve to spend their final years in the lap of convenience and leisure. Neither is commanded or advocated in the Bible. Personal responsibility is an assumed value and principle behind nearly every command in Scripture. For example, let him who stole steal no more, but rather, let him work with his hands, so that he will have something to give. Think about it. You can t move from being a thief to being a giver without taking personal responsibility both for stealing and for giving. However, if my stealing is classified as a compulsion or is explained by a life of poverty or abuse during my childhood, then I m no longer responsible for my actions. To the extent that our government and/or society diminishes our responsibility to own our words and actions and the results from our words and actions, to that extent, the Scriptures are being supplanted with human foolishness. Our society is filled with people who honestly believe that the government is responsible to make them happy, to provide for them, to ameliorate their pain and to give them what they lack. We won t survive as a country if we continue to allow ourselves to grow a dependency class who lack a sense of personal responsibility What is incredibly frightening is that some of this future rests literally in the hands of one man one justice of the Supreme Court who will probably be the deciding vote on whether Obamacare lives or dies. One vote. I don t think I m overstating it when I say that the quality of our future rests literally in the hands of a few unelected people who may make a legal judgment based primarily on their own political views. AS our country moves farther and farther from the Lord, our

6 views of God and man continue to deteriorate. The logical conclusion of a society that has jettisoned God is one where government assumes the role of God. Interestingly enough, Christians alone can change this future without taking political sides. 2 Chronicles tells us that if we simply forsake our sin, call on God s name, humble ourselves and pray, He will hear our prayers and will heal our land. This is such a strong promise that I wonder if we honestly believe it can happen. The future that Schaeffer, Koop and I have outlined need not become reality if Christians will simply forsake our sin and call on the Lord in humility. I m speaking to Christians now the rest of you can eavesdrop are you willing to get on your knees and cry out to God for your sin and the sin of this nation? Are you willing to be inconvenienced in order to help drive healing in this nation? Do you take 2 Chronicles 7.14 seriously? I m sure some who have read this will think that my post is over the top it may be hard to pull your eyes out from under your forehead. I get it. But in the absence of our nation returning to God, I believe it is predictable that we will end up not only killing our unborn for the sake of convenience, but we ll also (effectively) kill our elderly to save on costs and to not inconvenience ourselves too much should they consume too much health care resources. Bill English, CEO Mindsharp

7 Friday Five March 23 This week, I focus on what is commonly known as ObamaCare, or the Affordable Care Act and more generally, my political beliefs. The Supreme Court will take up oral arguments on Monday and they have allotted 3 days to this bill. This is a nod that they understand just how important and pivotal their decision will be. Early speculation is all over the board on this. Predictably, those who favor a single-payer, government-run health care system are saying that the court will decide in favor of the individual mandate (found unconstitutional by the 11 th Circuit Court but constitutional by the 6 th Circuit Court). Those who oppose it predict the opposite. Both sides, however, are united in one aspect: the vote will be close likely 5-4. The Obama administration is confident that they will prevail. So much so, that they don t have a Plan B should the individual mandate be struck down and moreover, they ve not even argued that the mandate is severable from the rest of the law. I think that those who oppose it have the better argument, but logic often doesn t sway the mind. My take on this law is this: if left in its current state, it will A) bankrupt an already financial weak government (you and me) and B) will forever change the nature of the relationship between the citizen and the Federal Government. It will set the stage to wipe out whatever is left of the enumerate powers doctrine and in the long run, will make the state governments virtually meaningless. Under the commerce clause, there will *nothing* that the Federal Government won t be able to compel its citizen to do. If our mere existence on this planet constitutes participation in an economy that the Feds can legislate, then say good-bye to any sense of freedom.

8 I know my liberal friends are rolling their eyes right now and wondering what planet I was born on. That s fine. But I ll go out on a limb and predict this: If the individual mandate is upheld as constitutional, Congress will have no restraint whatsoever on its continuing thirst for power. In their arrogance, they will feel that they can regulate and dictate any part of our lives they choose. I m not kidding. In the 230+ years of our country, I can t recall one single Congressional term where they voluntarily relinquished power to the states. They have totally ignored the 10 th amendment with the help of the supreme court and the states have progressively become more irrelevant over the last decades. What does it matter what your state does? The Feds control the purse strings ever since I can remember as a way forcing the states to do what they want. In addition, in short, I fully disagee that Congress should have the power to compel the individual to participate in a particular type of commerce in order to then regulate your actions either within that commerce or that might affect that commerce. We are at a pivotal point in our history. This isn t about helping those who can t help themselves. There were plenty of other ways for Obama to get what he wanted without this going to the Supreme Court. He could have passed a national tax and redistributed that money to government-run health care programs. He could have setup or reformatted DHS with a supporting tax that could have accomplished *everything* he wants. But instead, he chose to go this route. He and his team *knew* what they were doing. It s not a reach of logic to conclude that this method was chosen because not only did it create a national health care plan, but they wanted it in a way that once implemented, it could *never* be reversed. Changing the balance of power is a sure way to ensure that once you have the power, you won t let it go.

9 Republican and Democrat congresses alike have asserted too much power over the states. The 10 th amendment is clear, but the states haven t pushed back. Both Republican and Democrat Presidents have asserted power that was never theirs to assert. For example, do you recall Nixon fixing prices? The constitution didn t give him this power, yet he took it on himself and no one challenged him on it. Bush 43 and Obama both started or perpetuated wars without congressional approval. Congress bitched about it, but did little in the way of real accountability to stop them. It s about power, my friends, and this law under the guise of improved health care is the biggest power grab I ve ever seen. Once they control your health care, they have you well and truly by the short hairs. Under the guise of improving health and lowering costs for everyone, they will tell you what food to eat, how often you should exercise, what amusements you can and can t enjoy, what risks you can and can t take even what parts of your religion will be deemed compatible with their ideas of healthy and what parts aren t. You might laugh and write me off. But I m not kidding. They will control every part of your life. What car you drive, if you can shoot a gun, what sports kids can play in, if you smoke or not, what foods you consume, what kind of cell phone you can use, etc, because (in their minds), everything you do is related in one way or another to health care and everything you do is an act that falls under the commerce clause. I don t care about party affiliations anymore. What I care about is limited government, preserving our Federal system and ensuring that power divided is power checked. I ll vote for anyone of any party who espouses a view of freedom over equality of results. Obamacare is an example of equality of results. On a larger point, here is what I believe about politics: 1. God is in control. Period. In spite of all our problems,

10 I can rest in His sovereignty. 2. Government s primary role is to preserve individual freedom and ensure justice. (I don t believe there are different types of justice such as economic or reproductive justice. Properly understood, justice is a base concept, not divisible by topical focus) 3. Government should focus on the equality of opportunity and not equality of results 4. Individuals are endowed by *God* with certain rights that only a Godless government will take away 5. Socialism is first a Godless system 6. There is a law given by God that is above our laws 7. The concepts of private property, self-responsibility, honesty, a strong work-ethic, profits and bankruptcy all are concepts found in the Bible. 8. The more a society jettisons God in the public square, the more they move toward socialism because Government replaces God. 9. We loan to the government power to minimally restrict our freedoms for the greater good 10. You don t help the employee by hurting the employer 11. Bankruptcy is the proper remedy for bad business decisions 12. Freedom is messy. There is always collateral damage in a free society. There is also collateral benefit in a free society. 13. Referencing #11, In a socialistic society, you have the former without the latter. 14. You don t create wealth through government spending 15. You don t create wealth through redistribution of income 16. Governments never allocate resources as efficiently as the free markets 17. Power divided is power checked 18. The government does not exist to solve my problems or remove my pain 19. Profits are good when earned fairly and lawfully 20. More guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens reduces

11 violent crime 21. Government does not have the capacity to care 22. In our system of government, the quality of our government is directly related to the integrity, character and maturity of those we elect into office 23. Redistribution of wealth to achieve social goals *will* fail in the long run 24. Every society needs the rich 25. You cannot spend more than what you have and remain solvent 26. Well written laws applied fairly without prejudice is a core part of a solid foundation for a good society 27. I will defend your right to non-violently disagree with me, because that is also a core part of a solid foundation for a free society 28. God gives us the right to defend ourselves. 29. Long-term welfare whether corporate or individual creates a dependency class that votes in conflict with their own interests 30. There is a place for proper public/private investments in innovation *IF* the innovation can be proven to be profitable within a short amount of time 31. #29 and #30 are not contradictory 32. Classism (hating someone because of their success in life) is just as morally wrong as racism or sexism 33. It is wrong for politicians to pit one class against another for political gain 34. It is wrong for politicians to pit one religion against another for political gain 35. The need does not constitute the reason for another government program 36. Governments license it, legislate it, regulate it and tax it. It doesn t really matter what it is. 37. Governments have little self-control. 38. We elect our government officials, but God chooses our leaders. Did I mention that God is in control?

12 Bill English, CEO Mindsharp