Christian Scientists Want You to "Ask Your Doctor About Prayer"

The Church of Christian Science, the Boston-based church, is taking up issue with the Commonwealth's new law on mandatory healthcare coverage. They fear that the way the law is currently written it does not allow for employers to provide an option of faith-based healing. Christian Scientists believe that the power of healing lies in the deity, and through prayer all illness and sickness can be healed. To that end they don't practice medicine or subscribe to the common treatments that common medical practice provides. In this recent push the effort is being made to make sure that the language provided in the new healthcare law will allow for them to provide a faith-based healing method (so you pay for someone to pray for you, not to give you penicillin). Semantics are always important when discussing law, even a comma can effect the legality of an action. The Church of Christian Science is treading lightly on this issue. While it's an important issue for the nature of their faith and they don't want to be subject to the fines the state may impose for every person in their employ who chooses their faith-based heathcare plan (because it's not medical care, it's "health care") they are making sure that it's understood they're only asking for the option to provide the service. They are not requiring that the option be provided by all, only that they're not penalized for providing it.

Flickr user wallyg provides us with a overhead view of the Christian Science Plaza