It's not just Republicans who are feeling really, really sad today that millions of Americans will continue to have health care. The Catholic bishops are, of course,
also sad:
For nearly a century, the Catholic bishops of the United States have been and continue to be consistent advocates for comprehensive health care reform to ensure access to life-affirming health care for all, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable.Although the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) did not participate in these cases and took no position on the specific questions presented to the Court, USCCB's position on health care reform generally and on ACA particularly is a matter of public record.The bishops ultimately opposed final passage of ACA for several reasons.
You already know what those reasons are, of course. Obamacare covers basic health care for women, which, according to the bishops, is unconstitutional and un-freedomy and un-Jesusy and ... uh ... well, ladies and their lady parts are just so icky, so let's not even
talk about them, much less cover them in basic health care. Nope, let's just cover them up, period.
There's also some whining about how Obamacare covers abortion, even though Obamacare doesn't cover abortion, and, for those who might have forgotten, President Obama even signed an executive order just to make the bishops and Republicans happy that basically said, "No, seriously, you guys, this does not cover abortion."
The Catholic bishops aren't going quite as far as their Republican soul mates in Congress, however:
Following enactment of ACA, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has not joined in efforts to repeal the law in its entirety, and we do not do so today.The decision of the Supreme Court neither diminishes the moral imperative to ensure decent health care for all, nor eliminates the need to correct the fundamental flaws described above.We therefore continue to urge Congress to pass, and the Administration to sign, legislation to fix those flaws.
So they don't want to see the whole thing repealed. They're just working on their own
lawsuits to gut the parts they don't like—you know, the health-care-for-ladies parts. So, unlike Republicans, they don't favor a
"let him die" health care plan. Just a "let
her die" plan. Because that's what Jesus would do.