Dr. Barbara Bellar is running for office in Illinois. Dr. Barbara Bellar seems to be extremely outspoken, judging from her website and the transcripts of one of her recent campaign speeches. I wish more doctors shared these attributes of hers because I see doctors as a mostly silent bunch on issues of healthcare. This is why I began reading what Dr. Bellar was saying. Here is a link to a recent campaign speech she gave.
Dr. Barbara Bellar is against Obamacare. From her words I wonder if she is against Obamacare as much as she is simply against President Obama. I wonder if she is against President Obama because Obamacare is more a product of the Republican party than it is anything that President Obama proposed.
I agree that there are problems with Obamacare, but I am glad that we have begun making changes to our healthcare system. I am glad we are doing
something. We can't leave our current healthcare system as it is. I have seen that in my time as a chaplain.
Dr. Barbara Bellar writes that she has seen "the slow erosion of continuity of medical care stolen from the citizens of the United States." As a chaplain it is hard for me to understand why a physician would write that access to medical care is lessened by Obamacare. As a chaplain it is hard for me to understand how a physician can think that people are receiving adequate healthcare.
Let me be clear: the United States has a problem because not everyone can access healthcare in this country. Some people can access the system but others cannot. In our system, those that can access the system complain incessantly about those that cannot, all the while doing NOTHING TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM. This is unethical behavior. If you will do nothing to change the system so that everyone may access medical care you are responsible for letting people die.
I'd like to see a physician speaking about what we can do to create a system where everyone can access healthcare. Where are all the physicians in this regard? But a physician who complains about attempts to open up our healthcare system? I certainly am not interested in going to that doctor for healthcare.
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On page 4, Dr. Barbara Bellar writes, "It violates our freedom of religion to practice as we believe and not
have the government say what you will and will not hold as deeply
convicted principles in your life."
What?
Dr. Barbara Bellar is against opening up access to our healthcare system because it violates her freedom of religion? Nonsense. Dr. Barbara Bellar is not saying that it is against her religious belief to buy insurance. Dr. Barbara Bellar is saying that entering into a public system is against her religious beliefs because some of the money in that public system might be used to pay for someone else's abortion. This is very similar to the position the Catholic Church has taken. They don't want to pay for abortion and because of this they are claiming freedom of religion. This is a backward argument.
The First Amendment guarantees that, "government will make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free expression thereof." Our government cannot restrict access to abortion based on the religious objections of a few. If our government were to pass a law restricting access to abortion based on a certain group's religious opposition, then our government would be guilty of passing a law which established Christianity and this would be a clear infringement of First Amendment rights.
Obamacare does not say that all women must have abortions. Government is saying that abortions are available as needed. Dr. Barbara Bellar says that government should stay out of healthcare decisions but then she says government should make the decision that abortion services will be available only to the very rich. She is speaking out of both sides of her mouth. She is being disingenuous. If government were to make the decision that abortion services are available to only a select few, then government would be making a very big healthcare decision; one that would infringe upon First Amendment rights.
What would happen if a group came along and said that it is against their religious beliefs to access medical care on Sundays? In our current system, we allow for people to access medical care on Sundays and we even allow our insurance programs to pay for services received on Sundays. But if it against a group's religious rights to access medical care on Sundays shouldn't we prohibit medical care for everyone on Sundays? Surely it is against this group's freedom of religion to have to pay into a system which allows some people to access medical care on Sundays--a day clearly prohibited for this religious group. Nonsense. If it is against your religious beliefs to not access medical care on Sundays, then don't go to a doctor's office or a hospital on Sundays. It's that simple. But keeping me from accessing medical care on Sundays because you don't want to have to pay for it means that I have to live under your religious law--and that is an infringement of my First Amendment Rights.
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In her sermon, Dr. Barbara Bellar then turns her attention to birth control services. I have never before heard of a physician who was against birth control. Have you? I can't imagine walking into a doctor's office and asking to be examined so that I can then receive birth control and having the doctor say, "I'm sorry. It is against my religious beliefs to provide birth control."
What country are we living in? If you had told me in 2011 that we would be discussing the legality of birth control in 2012 I would have been astonished. We should be discussing whether or not doctors who refuse to give patients birth control should still hold a medical license. I think Dr. Barbara Bellar may be surprised by the answer.
