Saturday, November 04, 2006

Republicans Deny Critical Health Care to Newborns Americans

If you're like me you love babies and you love America -- and you have a particular fondness for baby Americans.

Sadly, the Republicans running our country seem to stop giving a damn about American babies immediately after they leave their mothers wombs.

From TalkLeft:
All children born in the U.S. are United States citizens. But the Bush-signed Deficit Reduction Act that went into effect in July prevents Medicaid from covering health care benefits to those born to undocumented residents -- unless the parents file proof of citizenship for the child, which is a catch-22 because the application form takes weeks or months and many of the immigrant parents don't want to alert authorities to their presence here.

Hospitals are just now catching up with the law's demands and doctors are justifiably outraged:
Dr. Jay E. Berkelhamer, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the policy “punishes babies who, according to the Constitution, are citizens because they were born here.” Dr. Martin C. Michaels, a pediatrician in Dalton, Ga., said that continuous coverage in the first year of life was important because “newborns need care right from the start.”

“Some Americans may want to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants, and others may want to send them home,” Dr. Michaels said. “But the children who are born here had no say in that debate.”
Compassionate conservatism at work. Vote these xenophobic louts out November 7. These babies are citizens and entitled to every advantage we can provide. Every child is entitled to an equal chance to succeed. Medical care during the first year of life is critical.
Those on the religious right often crow that God has turned away from America because America has turned from God. Actions like this should repulse any deity worthy of that title.

There can be no doubt that immigration is a hot-button topic in this country, but does anyone really think it is best addressed by denying medical care to babies... to
American babies?


1 comment:

Blogger said...

Did you quit posting or is blogger doing strange things to me?

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