California Health Care Legislation Denies Spiritual Aspect of Health, Says Christian Science Church

On Tuesday, the Christian Science Church stated that as a vote to expand health care coverage throughout California draws near, the state's residents have reason to be troubled that spirituality is about to be removed from their health care system.

"If their silence is any indication, this is a remarkable omission from [bill]AB X11...Any plan that sets out to meet the health care needs of Californians must include access to spiritual care," stated Brian Talcott, state spokesman for the Christian Science Church, even as he praised Speaker Fabian Nunez for drafting legislation to meet the health care needs of Californians affordably and "universally".

Talcott insists that with a growing number of Americans all across the nation acknowledging the role of spirituality in matters of health, a health care plan that denies this component is incomplete and should give citizens pause for concern.

The Christian Science Church has come under fire for a long time due to one of its central doctrines concerning health and wellness: namely, that because of God's omniscience, pure goodness, and omnipresence, human beings-who are truly pure spiritual beings and not beings of matter, anyway-must be free from illness and disease and, thus, illness and disease must be Devil-induced and fear-inspired illusions of the mind. Hence, medicine should never be required for healing, but instead a practiced "repentance" (literally changing one's mind) should be what the Church member uses for healing, just as Jesus, the ultimate "scientist", did.

As a result of this doctrine, some of Christian Scientist fundamentalists have refused to go to the doctor or provide medical treatment to their own treatment when there was need for these things, resulting in some catastrophic results.

Many people who are not Christian Scientists or aren't even religious have been impressed with the spiritual aspects of health and wellness. Some studies have concluded that people who pray earnestly tend to enjoy better health and greater longevity. Westerners have also been impressed for decades by the health and wellness powers of Eastern practices such as yoga and reiki, which place the central concern on spirituality but have been demonstrated to have powerful and lasting health and wellness effects on the body and mind.

As a result, some critics of the current health insurance system have expressed a desire for health insurers to include holistic and spiritual therapies in their policies if people request them. Other critics, however, say that health insurance in the United States already acts more like subsidized medicine than it does insurance and do not find the requests viable.

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