The Catholic bishops across America have a long tradition of standing in solidarity when it comes to the issue of health care. We believe that access to affordable health care isn’t a privilege reserved for those who can afford it, but rather it is a right that should never be rationed on an ability-to-pay basis. That principle must be asserted now in the face of proposed cuts to the MaineCare program that would harm some of Maine’s poorest families and children.

The American Roman Catholic Bishops declared in 1981 that:

“Every person has a basic right to adequate health care. This right flows from the sanctity of human life and the dignity that belongs to all human persons, who are made in the image of God … Special attention should be given to meeting the basic health needs of the poor. With increasingly limited resources in the economy, it is the basic rights of the poor that are frequently threatened first.” (Health and Health Care Pastoral Letter, 1981, U.S. Catholic Conference).

Proposed cuts to the MaineCare program present threats to the health security of Maine’s families of lesser means. In an attempt to reduce state spending, some are proposing to eliminate health coverage for 6,700 individuals living in poverty and to remove coverage for an additional 5,000 working families living just above the poverty line but without the resources to purchase health insurance on their own. This proposal would also create obstacles to accessing care by imposing unaffordable co-payments and premiums on thousands of low-income Mainers.

I speak out strongly against these proposals because they are contrary to our shared duty to care for one another and treat all people with dignity and compassion. Health care is foundational to all else. Our emphasis on quality, affordable and accessible heath care is rooted in our belief in the inherent dignity of the human person, created in the image of God.

To support a health care system that rewards those able to pay with better and more accessible care while depriving those with limited means violates the principles of justice and dignity. Most of us are blessed to enjoy the good things of life. It is unjust that some of us have so much, while at the same time so many are denied the basic right to health care.

We all recognize the demands that fall upon our elected officials. They have a fiduciary responsibility to balance the budget, making the necessary adjustments to align spending with available resources. Like you and me, lawmakers must establish priorities and base their decisions in line with those priorities. However, the budget proposals under consideration violate the principles of social justice. It is unjust to require the poor to bear the burden of balancing a state budget that serves everyone. It is unjust to deny health care to those who can’t afford it.

While I speak today as a Roman Catholic, the principles of social justice that I invoke are universal. The United Nations, in its Declaration of Human Rights adopted by all nations at the time of its founding, declared that everyone has the right to medical care and security in times of illness. I, and many thousands of Maine people regardless of their faith, affirm the human values expressed in this declaration. I urge Maine lawmakers to be guided by these same principles.

Bishop Richard J. Malone is the leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.