Can anyone shed any more light on this. I am a new Catholic but many of my liberal friends have posted this. It seems like just a small group of nuns but I don’t know anything about them. I have only found this article on very liberally biased sites. I haven’t found it on any Catholic news sites. So not sure what this is. Is this taken out of context somehow? Or who are these nuns? Very curious if anyone can shed anymore light on this.
Here is one website that had the article. A Site called Think Progress
thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/02/23/431147/catholic-nuns-file-brief-supporting-affordable-care-act/
I see nothing wrong. Obamacare comprises over 2,000 pages in the law. It’s being variously challenged. You are only hearing of the mandate right now but that has not even begun to be heard by any court.
Before all this, Obamacare has been underattack. I could list the objections. So, the first suit or suits are making their way and this is the first to see light of day. This one is only about Florida and Medicaid money. Not contraception, abortificants or sterilization – not yet anyway.
The issue is over the expansion of Medicaid to the poor – it’s a singular and discrete issue. Florida does not want to accept for expanded Medicaid because Florida fears federal involvement in Florida’s legislation. Or will the witholding of funds become coercive upon Florida?
The nuns disagree. The issue here is whether or not Florida is right to believe that the passage of Obamacare may violate Florida’s right to legislate – will the Medicaid money come with strings?
The nuns believe that Medicaid for the poor is necessary and will not coerce Florida because Obamacare has promised there will be no conditions. The nuns claim without expanded funds, they cannot continue their work. Florida wants a “coercion” exemption – the nuns say it’s not necessary.
This issue to be decided has nothing to do with the issues that have been in press lately. No procedures are mentioned except preventative health care. There will be dozens if not hundreds of suits about the whole and parts of Obamacare.
This has nothing to do with freedom of conscience, forcing the Church to provide contraception or forcing pharmacist and hospitals and universities to provide the latest roll-out of Obamacare – those suits have yet to see the light of day. But maybe it could and Florida forsees problems ahead. It has to do with getting more Medicaid money to treat the poor – which Florida fears will lead to more federal involvement in Florida’s ability to pass law once they start accepting the new expanded Medicaid money.
(Not having Florida’s brief though, I cannot tell all of Florida’s arguments; I can only glean the argument from what the nuns have to say about it).
I see nothing wrong what the nuns did if they believe as they do (that nothing bad will come of expanded Medicaid money in Florida) but as I know the federal government never gives money without condition. Anything done here by the nuns is done with good intent (but may be innocently misguided or misunderstood – and is being used) – they do not believe that the money will come with conditions upon Florida and are seeking that Florida accept funds that they need to work with the poor – mainly in preventative care.
It’s important to read the entire brief – not just accept excerpts. The article would like us to believe the nuns support the now-controversial latest mandate on contraception. That is not the case – this is one issue over whether Florida believes that the federal government will impose coercive conditions if they take new Medicaid money.
The bad thing I see here is that brief is being “used” to say that not all Catholics are against Obamacare, by the press. But this case has nothing to do with the contraception mandate and any implication that the Catholic Church supports the ALL of Obamacare, based on one brief over one single issue in Florida, does not speak for the whole of the Catholic Church. The press is being disingenuous in the way it presented the nuns’
amicus brief, especially the timing of it since it’s unrelated to the HHS mandate.
Read the entire brief:
thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Catholic-Sisters-Brief.pdf