Breaking down in tears, comedian Jimmy Kimmel revealed the health struggles his newborn son has faced while addressing the health care debate in America.
He recounted the birth of his second child, Billy, saying that he was born with a serious defect which required immediate open-heart surgery followed by years of monitoring and future medical procedures.
Of course, Kimmel is in the position to be able to afford the healthcare his son needs, but millions of others who may be in the same situation wouldn’t be able to cover the necessary costs.
“Until a few years ago, millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all,” Kimmel said during his 13-minute speech, which has now gone viral.
“Before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you would never be able to get health insurance because you had a pre-existing condition.”
“If your baby is going to die, and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make,” he said.
“No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life. It shouldn’t happen. Not here.”
“I think that’s something now, whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, or something else, we all agree on that, right?” he added, to cheers and applause from the crowd.
Watch the full speech below.
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