In 1963 it was standing in the school house door to deny little black children and college students the right to a public education by a past governor, who was a lawyer by profession, and who knew he was wrong. To his belated credit, Gov. Wallace asked the Lord and those he harmed, to forgive him.

Today it is our current governor, a medical doctor by profession, standing in the hospital door to deny the people in our state who can least afford it, some 300,000 of them, medical care that will cost the state nothing for three years and a minuscule amount thereafter. My question to Gov. Bentley is this: Will you be asking the Lord and those you will harm by your actions for forgiveness.

You do not need to be placed in that position Gov. Bentley even though your actions are truly misguided. Look, we all need doctors. I have three and they are the most caring and generous persons I know. We all know that this will place an additional burden on the medical profession and those of us who are patients and may have to spend additional time in the waiting room. But as our governor, you must place a priority on helping the most vulnerable of our people, ‘the least of these, my brethren,’ even if it costs us all a little more.

I read a letter to the editor in the Tuscaloosa News recently by a man named Rich Crow. I want to share that letter with a wider audience and I hope you will read it along with the thousands other ordinary citizens like me are thinking and writing about Dr. Bentley’s actions. Here’s what Mr. Crow wrote:

“Dear Editor:

“Once again Alabama has the dubious distinction of its governor standing in a doorway to prevent a specific group of people from entering. Back in the early 1960s, it was George Wallace standing in the doorway of Foster Auditorium on the University of Alabama campus to prevent black students from entering to register for classes.

“Today, as depicted in the newsletter of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, it is Gov. Bentley standing in the doorways of hospitals across Alabama, preventing thousands upon thousands of Alabama citizens’ access to health care. “As State Sen. Roger Bedford said in The Tuscaloosa News recently, ‘the governor must rise above his personal political and philosophical beliefs and do what is needed and what is right for so many of the people he swore to serve.’”

“To refuse the expansion of Medicaid benefits, funded totally by the federal government, is not only short-sighted, it is wrong, both morally and ethically. The governor ran on a platform that included the statement that ‘Alabama needs a doctor’ and that may have been true, but we did not need the Alabama version of Dr. Kevorkkian, the doctor of death.

“Governor please heed the biblical admonition, which states, ‘come now let us reason together saith the Lord.’ Reason must prevail. Doing the right thing for others is what should be the guiding principle, not personal and political ideology.”

Well written, Mr. Crow.

The Obama administration this past Thursday significantly relaxed the rules of the federal health-care law for millions of consumers whose individual insurance policies have been canceled, saying they can buy bare-bones plans or entirely avoid a requirement that most Americans have health coverage.

The surprise announcement, days before the Dec. 23 deadline for people to choose plans that will begin Jan. 1, triggered an immediate backlash from the health insurance industry and raised fairness questions about a law intended to promote affordable and comprehensive coverage on a widespread basis.

The law is going to take a while to implement. My advice is to be sure to check with your insurance carrier or agent if there are any doubts at all about your coverage. If you have any problems just call Dr. Bentley. He’s on call.

Bob Martin can be reached by email at: bob@montgomeryindependent.com