Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Anything that could lead to state-assisted abortions or expand the socialist principles already governing much of our society should be stopped.
The District 55 School Board last week voted to back out of a proposal to site a school-based health clinic inside Sweet Home High School. It was the right message to the community even if the board was badgered into taking the vote. Of course, the decision was easy to make since Linn County Health Department, sensing a high level of public unhappiness with the idea, had already withdrawn from the proposal for at least this year.
Next year, if this thing comes back, the board should say no from the outset and tell Linn County Health and Samaritan Health Services to go away.
The opponents of the clinic listed many reasons for doing so, each of them varying in strength. The two most important reasons are the concerns about abortions and its socialist nature.
First, the clinic would probably be a stepping stone to abortion services for teens behind the backs of their parents. The clinic is unlikely ever to offer abortions or other “reproductive services;” but apparently, the clinic would be required by state law to refer girls to places that could provide those services.
This would apparently apply to girls 15 or older, who can get abortions without notifying parents, among the most ridiculous ideas we allow to persist in our society.
The proponents of this clinic insisted it would not offer reproductive services, but they could never counter the opponents’ arguments about referrals. While these services are provided already, as opponents of the clinic have said, we do not need it inside our school buildings, whether abortions take place there or girls are simply referred elsewhere.
Abortions might never be an issue in a clinic like this in Sweet Home, but we the people of Sweet Home shouldn’t even supply an unused platform for abortions, especially at taxpayer expense.
And taxpayer expense is the second reason this thing should be aborted if it tries to come back next year.
Health care is expensive. We all know it. Many factors lead to these high costs. Most of them are the result of socialist thinking.
Rather than expanding the socialist services of our health care system, we should actively oppose it wherever we can. Health care would become affordable if driven by true competition at every level of the health care industry.
The key concept here is that no one is entitled to another man’s labor. The child or man in need does not entitle himself to another man’s labor by the mere existence of that need. We have no right to health, contrary to what so many statists would have us believe. We have no right to force others to work for us just because we are sick or may get sick, and forcing others to work for us is exactly what socialized health care does.
We shouldn’t even be talking about expanding socialist health care into our schools. We should be talking about reversing the socialist expansion in health care instead.
While proponents of the clinic may not be thinking this way, the school-based clinic is an easy step to take toward universal health care because it’s all “for the children.” Fortunately, members of the community aren’t falling for that trump card.
Before you bleeding hearts who fall for this argument start crying about the children, we have plenty of folks who are commanded by their god to help the needy. We also have plenty of liberals who “care” deeply for others and have a self-imposed duty to the collective.
Both groups insist others adhere to their philosophical or religious duties and then extort money from their fellow citizens. But if they were incapable of implementing their socialist state, they could certainly raise the resources among themselves to help the needy children.
The children can be helped, and private organizations and individuals are the ones who should do so, voluntarily.