Religious Exemption?

Let me preface my comment by noting that I oppose Obama's healthcare plan. That said, I concur with the exemption for those such as the Amish to oppose health coverage for religious reasons. The caveat, however, is that the Amish oppose all health coverage on moral/religious grounds, not just state-run healthcare. Mainline Christians, like most of us, don't oppose healthcare coverage in general, and those of us to oppose Obama's healthcare initiative do not oppose it for a particular scriptural reason, but do so because we typically find such federally mandated programs to be socially offensive. As such, there are numerous reasons why attmpts by mainline Christians to opt out for religious reasons would be futile.

 

I think that exemptions for religious reasons is in line with the concept of the separation of church and state given that we are headed for a state run health care system.

For example - hospitals operated by churches should be exempt from performing abortions and other procedures which are counter to their church's beliefs.