Catholic Online Forum

There has been a lot of talk about health care lately. At least one person mentioned that they opted out of an employer sponsored health plan (HMO) because the HMO provided abortions. Is it incumbent upon Catholics to do likewise?

If you know or suspect that your employer sponsored plan (HMO, PPO, Insurance) performs or pays for abortions, must you in good conscience decline to participate in the plan, even if it means that you and/or you family must go without health insurance? What about birth control?

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

There are few options available in many, maybe most areas. I suspect going without insurance for the family is a greater wrong than using an insurer that pays for abortions. I'm with an insurer that partners with the local Catholic Hospital so I'm fairly confident abortions are not performed there but I'm also pretty sure they provide contraceptive services.

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BobA

I do not consider abortion or contraception to be health care.

For that matter, I do not consider a prepaid health care package to be insurance.

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Daniel

"Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." -- Luke 12:51

David,

This has been discussed before on this forum. It has to do with principles of formal vs. material cooperation in evil. Jimmy Akin does a good job of explaining the concepts with regard to abortion/euthanasia and voting for politicians who support abortion/euthanasia.

Bottom line is, what an employee is doing, who contributes to a company-sponsored health insurance plan that covers abortion/contraception, with the intent of providing health insurance for his family and with no intent of helping to fund contraception or abortion coverage, is remote material cooperation with evil. And remote material cooperation with evil is permissible when there are proportionate reasons for doing so, such as providing health insurance for the family when there are no other viable options for providing this good.

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

Dean,

You realize that my original post was almost four years ago?

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

Actually, I didn't. But, since it was not answered so long ago either, I figured I would bring closure!

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

And I do not consider your comments to be relevant to the original (four year old) question.

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

I'm not convinced that what is being required in the HHS mandate is anything other than remote material cooperation either.

I learned a good deal about formal and material cooperation in the discussion of vaccines derived from aborted children.

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Jeff Stevens

Jeff,

An organization paying for insurance for its employees that covers morally objectionable things, where the coverage could not be provided if the organization refused to pay for it, is of a different level of cooperation than an individual paying in. At any rate, the HHS mandate impinges on an individual's freedom to practice his religion, to opt out of the coverage based on his sincerely held religious beliefs, which should always be an option regardless of the degree of cooperation in evil. It is permissible to engage in something that rises only to the level of remote material cooperation in evil when there are proportionate reasons for doing so. But the Church does not teach that such cooperation should be mandated, certainly not for cooperation that goes beyond remote material cooperation, beyond which I am convinced the HHS mandate goes.

That being said, I'm not very familiar with the Obama administration's latest "concession," whether it builds enough of a wall for the Church not to be cooperating at any level in the promulgation of evil through "health" insurance (I'm not sure how it differs from the previous proposal, which the bishops rejected). It certainly still forces laypersons who run businesses to cooperate in evil.

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

Was the person I mentioned (I don't remember who it was) being scrupulous?

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

Scrupulosity (from New Advent) - An unfounded apprehension and consequently unwarranted fear that something is a sin which, as a matter of fact, is not.

I don't believe there is any evidence that the person opted out based on scrupulosity, which is an habitual and psychological condition, not something that necessarily applies to an individual, rational, decision not to cooperate in any way with evil. A charge of scrupulosity would be warranted against a person who can't leave the confessional because he fears every minute transgression he has made will doom him to hell, or because he fears much to be sins that aren't (for instance, "I did not cross myself when I passed by a church").

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

I think if I were situated differently, I would opt out.

At the moment, our family gets more money out of the insurance than it puts in, so we can safely say that although we participate in my husband's employer's plan, none of our money goes to paying for those things.

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Rose West
"May God help us not to spoil His work" (Bl. Mother Theresa)

If one is in a plan that offers birth control or worse is it possible to just opt out? Under Obamacare I'm not sure one can opt out without paying a heavy penalty for each member of the family, probably more than most families can afford. I believe Obama has Catholics trapped to the extent that we are going to be part of this evil regardless of how we might try to dodge it, I also believe we will not be negatively judged for being placed in such a position. Get the least offensive plan available and pray.

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BobA