When our family moved from Lexington, KY, to Anniston, AL, to follow my husband’s call to become the pastor of a Presbyterian church, I had plans to stay at home with our two-year-old son. Little did I know that God would soon call me, too, into a new and unfamiliar
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And If So, What Difference Does It Make? Healthcare is a very good thing for governments to provide, whether or not it is a human right, because it is certainly a basic human good and is necessary for human flourishing. The social provision of healthcare can be considered part of
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Editor’s Note: We’ve spent the last few weeks reflecting on what our Christian faith has to say to our current systems of healthcare and health insurance. With today’s article, we take a step back and reflect on the healing and wholeness that, as earlier authors have claimed, lies close to
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Justice or Freedom? In the debate over healthcare reform, it comes down to this: do we aim for a system based on justice – equal access through redistribution of funds and regulation of services – or do we continue to favor freedom – giving patients and doctors unfettered access to
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“I’m sorry to have to tell you that you have cancer of the rectum.” I firmly believe now that such news should be delayed at least until a patient is a little less foggy from anesthesia. It was a good thing my wife was with me on that Friday, August
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Your Mission Field Is Around You When I was in college, I felt a clear call to work in East Africa. This call directed every decision I made, from choosing a major at Vanguard University to spending my summers in Kenya. In 1999, I had the opportunity to work with
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I’ll admit it. I winced when I read the theme for this week’s posts, “Vulnerable Populations and Christian Responsibility.” Again, I thought, a discussion of women is framed as taking care of the vulnerable. In healthcare settings, not all women are equally vulnerable. I have questions. Where does women’s vulnerability
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally featured in the May/June 2003 issue of the print social witness magazine of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Church & Society. It is reprinted here as it originally appeared, with a few editor’s notes to where policy has changed, either within the Church or within
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“Uncle, help me!” Adán cried. “Where are you?” Miguel called back. Fourteen-year-old Adán had enclosed himself into a bedroom closet to escape the flames, smoke, and falling beams in his room, where faulty electrical wiring had started the midnight blaze. Miguel kicked down the bedroom door and dragged Adán from
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Ethan, our 16-year-old son, is autistic. Like lots of autistic people, Ethan has highly focused interests, some of which include jumbo-sized vegetable hybrids, Christmas, and his birthday. Ethan also is prone to physical and verbal outbursts. Thanks to a powerful drug cocktail and the coping strategies his teachers have taught
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