American Morning

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August 20th, 2009
09:53 AM ET

Debating religion and health care reform

President Obama's latest health care push – talking up reform to faith-based groups and religious leaders. In a conference call with at least 140-thousand people, the president called reform "a core ethical and moral obligation."

Rev. Jim Wallis, a member of the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based Partnerships, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, debated the issue on "American Morning" Tuesday.
Filed under: Health • Politics
soundoff (5 Responses)
  1. eliz wolfgang

    President Obama..For me it is now time to give up on the American People because they have given up on you and what you were elected to do. You are there to help make the tough decisions; the decisions that the legislative branch do not have the balls to make for the American People..

    But yet, the so-called americans are downplaying, yelling and screaming, carrying weapons, not listening, while their families are sick and dying.

    Mr. President it is not your fault on all this. As soon as this legislation doesn't pass/or passes, the insurance and drug companies will raise their rates anyway. To them, this is a win-win situation. But this is why this is not a demo/repub agenda. This is "for the People" agenda. Ideology should be set aside.

    Remember "death and taxes" go hand in hand, unless you so-called americans, do not believe in a DEMOCRACY.

    August 21, 2009 at 12:25 pm |
  2. JMZ

    Pavel- Dude your analogies are ridiculous. Try living in a country that dosent defend it self-oh wait their are not any or they require us evil war mongers to defend them. A war is terrible yes. But defense of a country is needed. Me being forced to pay because you decided not to wear a condom on a 1 night stand is not. and im pro choice. This is why uhc will fail. because people like you think they have the right to everything handed to you, no restrictions no responsibility. And us suckers who made the right choices or took responsibility for our bad ones somehow owe you a living

    August 20, 2009 at 2:16 pm |
  3. JMZ

    wait- so bush mentions god and faith based group he is bad. obama does it its ok? WOW! so much for the "change" obama promised...

    August 20, 2009 at 2:04 pm |
  4. markp

    Obama plans to pay for 2/3rds of this 1.3 trillion dollar entitlement with 500 billion re-allocated from medicare than “prevention” counselling. In his mind he believes that if he can convince people to stop eating m and m’s that will save people from getting there foot amputated from diabetes, seriously this is how he plans to save 400 billion dollars. To not listen to more of a reallity based solution would be ignorance at best..
    Now even though he has not affilliated with a church since the “REV.” Wright’s rooster pen, he is turning to GOD to spread this awfull plan.. Well MR. PRESIDENT, GOD himself couldn’t make your numbers add up to anything but a bankruptcy of our nation…

    August 20, 2009 at 1:50 pm |
  5. Pavel

    So many questions need be brought to this discussion.
    Amoung them,
    Mr. Perkins seems to be, as are most religious-right, a "my way or else" type. While he insists that no taxpayer dollars should be used for abortion as it is – in his and others' view – immoral, where is his commensurate outage about taxpayer dollars being spent on wars , which kill the living, not the "not yet born living"? (BTW, if in a war, a pregnant woman is killed and the "unborn" baby also dies, is that taxpayer funded abortion?)
    An argument I have had with faith-based initiatives is that they are in essence taking tax-payer dollars to fund "social programs" with a religious agenda (you want this cup of soup and sandwich, you pray my prayers and listen to my sermon). This is in addition to their unfair tax breaks (I need to pay property taxes, income taxes,etc., churches do not). I suspect the 'religious-right" would consider this argument more properly if they honestly commented on how they would react should a Christian person be in a predomently other religious community and the only faith-based services available included proselytization to a non-Christan religion. I would like to learn what each side has to say on the "Bill" regards to this.
    Mr. Perkins closing comments seemed to be basically, "give me our way then we can talk about how I should tell you how to frame the rest of health care reform".
    We have too many people without access to health care, myself included (as a full time worker with no insurance coverage). We need to have the debate over. Millions for war, pennies for enriching our people. That mindset needs to end.
    Pavel

    August 20, 2009 at 11:32 am |
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