ICYMI: Atlanta Voice: Rev. Gerald Durley: The religious argument against attacks on health care

“We must continue to pray and do our part to hold our elected officials accountable and demand access to adequate, affordable health care for our community.”

Today, Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley, a pastor at Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta penned an op-ed for the Atlanta Voice making the case for why Georgians of faith must fight to protect access to affordable health care and vote out President Trump. The op-ed highlights what is at stake for Georgians if Trump gets his way and overturns the Affordable Care Act amid the current global health crisis that is disproportionately hurting Black and Brown Georgians. 

See below for key excerpts of the op-ed:

Atlanta Voice: Rev. Gerald Durley: The religious argument against attacks on health care

By Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley 

“There is no virus that is bigger than God. There is no President bigger than God. However, we also know faith without works is dead. We must continue to pray and do our part to hold our elected officials accountable and demand access to adequate, affordable health care for our community.

It is no secret that our Black and brown community is suffering far worse from the virus due to the health care crisis that has plagued us far beyond the pandemic. According to recent reporting, Black Georgians are dying at a higher rate from COVID-19 than whites across all age groups, sometimes at three or four times the rate for whites.

Whether the virus has affected you physically or not, it is our moral duty to help our fellow man and uplift our community. President Obama told us that regardless of your race, creed, zip code, or background, health care is a human right. But right now, Donald Trump and Republicans are rushing to confirm a new justice because they believe they can overturn the Affordable Care Act.

The Supreme Court will hear Trump’s latest attempt to tear down the Affordable Care Act just one week after the election. This means that the next Justice who goes on the Court will decide whether or not working families will still have protections for pre-existing conditions at a time when complications from COVID-19, like lung scarring and heart damage, could become the next deniable pre-existing condition.

If Trump gets his way, as many as 133 million Americans with preexisting conditions could lose coverage protections, including 1.8 million Georgians.

Christians do not stand on the sidelines and watch our brothers and sisters fall. We are in this fight to protect our access to affordable health care and together, with our faiths stronger than ever, we will see the end of this pandemic. We must also vote out corruption and danger and elect Joe Biden as our next President and continue to combat both viruses that plague us today.”

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