Health
The Pennsylvania Dutch generally do not proselytize and discourage intermarriage. Because of close consanguinity, certain genetic problems occur more frequently. Dr. D. Holmes Morton has established the Clinic for Special Children to study and treat families with these problems.
The plain sects typically prohibit insurance, and they assist each other charitably in case of sickness, accident, or property damage. Internal Revenue Service Form 4029 allows one to claim exemption to Social Security taxes under certain very restrictive conditions, and members of the plain sects neither pay the taxes nor receive death, disability, or retirement benefits from social security.
Read more about this topic: Plain People
Famous quotes containing the word health:
“The greatest public health threat for many American women is the men they live with.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“You already know I desire that neither Father or Mother shall be in want of any comfort either in health or sickness while they live.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“I think that carrying a baby inside of you is like running as fast as you can. It feels like finally letting go and filling yourself up to the widest limits.”
—Anonymous Mother. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 2 (1978)