Kansas bishops defend support for placing conditions on Medicaid expansion
The Kansas Catholic bishops have been standing by their request to include conditions on the Medicaid expansion in their state. They have decided to withhold their support for the expansion of Medicaid until some conditions such as allowing a referendum on constitutional amendments and removing the right to abortion as a natural right are fulfilled.
The bishops have been advocating that Medicaid should not be funding abortions. They also want conscience protections for healthcare providers who do not wish to perform abortions.
The executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, Chuck Weber, has defended this harsh stance by saying that the bishops are not ‘pro-life’ but ‘pro-birth’. He called the media depiction of the situation ‘disingenuous’.
He claims that the bishops are not creating hurdles in the situation, but are making efforts to remove them. He insisted that the advocates who wish abortion to be included in the healthcare policy are the ones who are making unnatural requests through their legislations. He believes that killing a child before their birth is not healthcare.
Weber also called Medicaid an ‘imperfect solution’ to the problem of healthcare provisions. He claims that the church supports this expansion if their demands are met.
Faithful America, another Christian social justice group has put forth a petition that condemns the actions of the bishops saying that it is not Christian to hold access to affordable healthcare hostage as a political bargaining chip. It has received 1,100 signatures and hopes to reach 5,000 by the end.
The state senate has previously fallen short of one vote which has now pushed the Medicaid expansion bill to come up for a vote again, soon.
