In Atlanta 51 people, mostly illegal immigrants, are in trouble. Serious trouble. Their kidneys don’t work, and without regular, renal dialysis they will die. No ifs, ands, buts or maybes. They will die.
Their status as illegal immigrants makes them ineligible for Medicare, Medicaid or any other publicly funded program, and they are too poor to afford private medical insurance. For years they have depended upon the charity of Grady Hospital’s outpatient dialysis clinic to keep them alive. That all changed on October 4th when that clinic permanently closed.
Sure, even illegal immigrants can get treatment at an emergency room, but only after things deteriorate to the point of being immediately life threatening. Not a minute before. For patients with chronic kidney failure this means they must go without dialysis until their blood is so filled with toxins that they are deathly ill and potassium levels are at lethal concentrations before they qualify to receive emergency dialysis at most hospitals. In this situation, most die within a few months. That’s just the cold, dead fact.
I couldn’t even guess how many people are in this situation today. A lot. There are a lot of illegal immigrants in America, and a percentage of them suffer from chronic renal failure, coronary artery disease and other serious conditions which require regular and continuing treatment. Without treatment these, our brothers and sisters, will die.
As the country has considered and debated health care reform over the past several months, neocons, Blue Dog democrats, libertarians, Tea Party bagheads and white supremacist skinheads have insisted that any reform legislation must include strong provisions to insure that sick illegal immigrants will die. Like the noisy supporters of Joe Wilson (R-SC) and fans of Glenn Beck, the idea that the life of a single illegal immigrant might be saved at taxpayer expense is more than their bigotry and selfishness can bear.
It doesn’t stop there. The health care reform bill under consideration in the Senate would deny illegal immigrants even the right to purchase health insurance at their own expense. The health insurance exchange marketplace would be closed to illegal immigrants, whether they can pay for coverage or not. Just as in the “whites only” mentality of the old South, having the money for lunch won’t buy an immigrant a seat at the health care counter.
What kind of country is this? What are we becoming? How can we celebrate a season of “good will toward men” while standing firm in our denial of life saving medical care to so many of our brothers and sisters. How do hearts become so hardened?
A conservative friend almost daily forwards inspirational messages to me—pictures of Jesus, angels and crosses accompanied by uplifting stories of peace, love, brotherhood and compassion. Just as frequently, he forwards to me hate filled messages spewing invective toward illegal immigrants, referring to them as “cock roaches” and demanding that they be afforded no education benefits, no drivers licenses, no jobs, and no health care at all.
How can the warring messages of these emails be reconciled? What gives?
It’s as though Americans are schizophrenic, possessed of two distinct personalities, even made of incompatible substances. Peace, love and compassion form our creed, but hate, neglect and greed exemplify our deeds.
Let’s make it personal. Gloria, a ten year old girl, and her family live three blocks from where I’m sitting. They live in a run down, ill-kept, apartment building. Gloria plays like other girls, runs and laughs and misbehaves like other girls, and loves her parents, her family, her friends, her teacher and her school like other girls.
Gloria is an illegal immigrant. Should we kill her? Should we just kill Gloria because she and her parents entered this country illegally?
What if she were to develop Type 1 juvenile diabetes like 15,000 other American children will this year? That’ll just be her tough luck, right? No treatment for the little illegal cockroach. Without treatment she’ll die. Good enough for her.
What if Gloria’s dad, Ruben, should develop high blood pressure and start having chest pains? To hell with him, right? He’s just an illegal cockroach. If he wants medical treatment let him crawl back under the fence. He should have thought about this before he decided to break our laws.
On Sunday morning let’s stand and sing “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” like we mean it. We will mean it. Our hearts will swell with peace and brotherly love. Gloria and Ruben won’t cross our minds.
This is the test of our country. Maybe the final test. Not our military power, not our economic prowess, but this—our goodness, decency and compassion. Our love and respect for life.
51 Atlantans are scared tonight. Death is a frightening thing.
photo credit: davitydave/flickr.com
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We cannot keep rewarding people for breaking the law and coming into the US illegally. It is a crime against our country. We have got to take care of Americans first because we cannot take care of the whole world! When the authorities find illegal aliens they should be immediately deported. I am not unsympathetic to sick people but they can get the medical treatment they need in their own country.