WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel Delivers 13 Minute Tearful Monologue About His Newborn Son to Urge Congress to Keep Obamacare

‘If Your Baby Is Going to Die and It Doesn’t Have to, It Shouldn’t Matter How Much Money You Make’

If Jimmy Kimmel’s Monday night monologue can’t melt the hearts of a few Republicans, nothing can. The ABC late-night talk show host, through tears, told his audience about the birth of their new-born son, William John “Billy” Kimmel, and how within a few hours a nurse knew something was wrong. 

“I have a story to tell about something that happened to our family last week,” Kimmel began Monday night. “Before I go into it, I want you to know it has a happy ending.”

A cardiac specialist performed heart surgery on the infant. He’ll need several more operations over the next few years to fix a congential heart defect.

Kimmel, over course, is well-off. He’s supposedly worth $35 million, so any operation he can afford. But he made the point that most people cannot. And without ObamaCare, many people in his family’s shoes would be in a devastating position.

The Daily Beast’s Matt Wilstein gives the details:

“We were brought up to believe that we live in the greatest country in the world,” Kimmel continued. “But until a few years ago, millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all. You know, before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease, like my son was, there’s a good chance you’d never be able to get health insurance, because you had a pre-existing condition.” And if your parents didn’t have insurance, he added, “You may not even live long enough to get denied because of your 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,” Kimmel said, his voice breaking again. “I think that’s something that whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?” His audience roared with approval.

Whatever party you belong to, Kimmel said, “We need to make sure that the people who represent us, and people are meeting about this right now in Washington, understand that very clearly. Let’s stop with the nonsense. This isn’t football. There are no teams. We are the team. It’s the United States. Don’t let their partisan squabbles divide us on something every decent person wants.”

“We need to take care of each other,” Kimmel said through tears. “No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life. It just shouldn’t happen. Not here.”

It was the most personal, moving and convincing case yet made by a public figure for keeping the Affordable Care Act intact. And it will be hard to ignore.

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.