Tuesday
03Nov2009
Your Tax Dollars Could Fund "Medical" Prayer
Tue, November 3, 2009 | Lisa Barger Although most Americans may have just heard about this today—thanks to the story in the LA Times—medical bloggers have been barking about this for a while now. And those bloggers make some excellent points. What happens when other churches want in on the action? What does this mean for the separation of church and state? And should your tax dollars really be used to fund “treatments” that have, in the past, been the focus of criminal prosecution when children died after being sent to prayer sessions instead of mainstream medical facilities?
So you tell us. Do you believe that prayer heals? Should parents have the right to refuse medical treatment in lieu of prayer for their children? Will this really result in your tax dollars being used to fund “medical” prayer and faith healing?
Source:
Hamburger, T., et al. (2009). Healthcare provision seeks to embrace prayer treatments. Los Angeles Times. Accessed November 3, 2009 from latimes.com.
Reader Comments (2)
My understanding is it won't get too much money so what's the big deal?
"The first amendment prohibits the Congress from making laws 'respecting an establishment of religion.' "
For our secular government to provide religious pseudo-health care to people is a violation of my Constitutional rights. Plain and simple. The United States government is not supposed to respect an establishment of religion nor "prohibiting the free exercise of religion". No one is preventing religion from exercising but this religious practice of prayer healing need not be paid for by our government.
If this is going to happen, I want The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's pray-healing too. This will require 7 days of intense prayer healing and a warm noodle massage.
It is in my religious belief that our government should uphold all religious beliefsif they're going to uphold one.