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<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"><em><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;"> SAMANTHA WARD ESSAY:</span></strong></em></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">THE AFFORDABLE CARE&nbsp; ACT <br />
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Affordable Care Act. Obamacare. The health care bill. Whatever it is you refer to it as, it&rsquo;s unconstitutional to its core. While supporters of the legislation falsely promote its function to insure the uninsured and provide cheaper overall health care as well as state that the forced purchase of health insurance is within the federal government&rsquo;s jurisdiction under the commerce clause, it must be noted that nowhere in the constitution anything medical, including health care, is ever mentioned. Under the commerce clause, the central government is given the power to regulate interstate commerce, but not to force citizens to buy a consumer product. Because the commerce clause does not justify the law, the power to regulate health care is most certainly only left to the individual states.<br />
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From the states&rsquo; perspective, the Affordable Care Act, among numerous other pieces of current legislation, is a direct violation of the states&rsquo; rights, and goes against the limitations of governmental powers. The tenth amendment to the United States Constitution was the last amendment included in the Bill of Rights, authored by James Madison, who, through also authoring many of the Federalist Papers of the eighteenth century, advocated the strict and limited roles of the federal government. Supported by the proponents of adding individual rights to the already ratified Constitution, the Bill of Rights created a crucial amendment in maintaining a federal system of states within a union. An important amendment, the tenth specifies that any power not explicitly given to the federal government is then reserved for the individual states.<br />
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Those who believe the Affordable Care Act is constitutional point to the provisions of the commerce clause. Under the commerce clause, Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce. However, it is only commerce that substantially affects interstate transactions that is under the jurisdiction of the federal government. This important distinction is necessary in preserving the balance in powers between the federal government, and those governments closer to the people. However, the Affordable Care Act, signed by President Obama and effective on March 23, 2010, mandates individuals to purchase a privately manufactured and run consumer product, or pay a fine if they refuse to purchase insurance. This in no way correlates to the guidelines under the commerce clause, and therefore the power of regulating and shoving healthcare unto the nation is not explicitly given to Congress. The possessors of this power then lie solely in the states.<br />
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The Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional from its very perception, as it directly violates the tenth amendment in that it has acted on powers reserved only for the individual states. Furthermore, in mandating all citizens to purchase a good or give up money rightfully earned, it is restricting not only the rights of the states, but the direct rights of the constituents of the country.<br />
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Bibliography<br />
&quot;Bill of Rights in the News.&quot; Bill of Rights Institute. Bill of Rights Institute. Web. 28 Mar 2014. &lt;http://billofrightsinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/HealthcareAct_AnswerKey.pdf&gt;.<br />
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&quot;Is Obamacare constitutional?.&quot; The Tenth Amendment Network. N.p.. Web. 28 Mar 2014. &lt;http://www.tenthamendment.net/home/universal-health-care-insurance-mandate-constitution.asp&gt;.<br />
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&quot;The Requirement to Buy Coverage Under the Affordable Care Act.&quot; Health Reform. Kaiser Family Foundation. Web. 28 Mar 2014. &lt;http://kff.org/infographic/the-requirement-to-buy-coverage-under-the-affordable-care-act/&gt;.<br />
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