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WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 /Christian Newswire/ -- Today some of the largest multiracial, multiethnic, and multigenerational faith-based and policy organizations in the country, representing more than 30 million people, gathered in the Nation's capital to discuss healthcare reform and to mobilize their constituents regarding this national debate.

We believe social justice includes healthcare reform that lowers the cost, increases quality, and expands choice at the greatest convenience, without moving private health decisions from the doctor's office to Washington bureaucrats. Individual liberties trump government-imposed obligations. We believe that individuals, communities, and doctors in the free market make better health decisions than government mandates. We believe in incentives, not coercion.

We oppose funding for abortion. Abortion is not healthcare. We support the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. Life, no matter how young, is not expendable and, no matter how ill or aged, is not to be weighed on a cost-benefit scale. We support conscience laws protecting hospitals and healthcare providers from coerced participation in abortion. We oppose government policies pressuring people to forgo or limit treatment because of age or illness. We oppose rationed healthcare due to age, illness or based on a government agency's determination of "quality" or "value" of life. President Obama said, "under our plan no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place." However, the House has repeatedly rejected amendments denying funding to abortion. We will hold Congress accountable to the principle of the sanctity of human life and to the President's assurance that no public funds will fund abortion and that conscience laws will remain in place.

We support health insurance that is affordable and portable. We support legal reform to stop frivolous lawsuits that drive up healthcare costs, while affording the injured appropriate compensation. We support portability, allowing people to take their healthcare with them so it is not tied to employment. We support options to purchase health insurance across state lines. We support competition; coverage of pre-existing conditions; wellness care and prevention incentives; tax relief that provides a dollar-for-dollar deduction for every dollar spent on premiums or other medical or prescription costs; and a dollar-for-dollar tax deduction with no limit from gross income for every dollar contributed to nonprofit organizations providing healthcare for free or at reduced cost to the needy.

We support freedom and the dignity of the individual, and thus we oppose federalization of the healthcare industry that would create a maze of bureaucracy which will impede and delay critical care and decrease the quality of healthcare. We oppose a single-payer, government-run insurance program or the so-called public option. It is time to start over with a truly nonpartisan approach to healthcare.

Notice of Webcast:

Mat Staver is a scheduled speaker for a live "National Townhall on Health Care Reform" webcast on Thursday, September 10 at 8:30 p.m. EDT.

Bishop Harry Jackson, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, will be appearing on a live webcast tonight at 8:30 p.m. at www.frcaction.org/webcast. They will join members of Congress, leading medical and policy experts and other national leaders for the live event.