Much like the Komen/Planned Parenthood debacle, the move from U.S. Bishops to protest including contraception coverage for employees reeks more of politics and power than it does of God's calling. The bishops claim government interference when, honestly, it is the Church attempting to limit female employee's access to affordable contraception. The compromise, having the health insurance companies pay for the contraceptives instead of the Catholic groups, is laughable. In several states, Catholic institutions have been mandated by states to provide the access to contraception for years, without any backlash. So why are things different now?
Religious institutions such as churches where most employees share the same faith, according to the ruling by the Department of Health and Human Services, are exempt from providing contraception options as part of health coverage. But if you're a Muslim or a Hindu, atheist or a Catholic (practicing or lapsed) who doesn't feel like getting pregnant while you're working at St. Francis hospital, the government believes you have the right to receive a health plan that includes contraceptives.
Like many of my pew pals, I learned a few lessons as an every Sunday practicing Catholic. In this circumstance, maybe it's best to put the argument in a way that the Bishops might understand. Free will. In the Catholic faith, we're taught that humans are given free will on purpose by God. What we do with that choice is up to us. God didn't send a Catholic bishop into the Garden of Eden to pull the plug on the Adam apple incident. Instead, He let the world's first unmarried couple figure it out themselves. There is nowhere in the Bible I've read more than a few times that says the Church or anyone else is called by God to control the lives of others. In fact, Jesus warns against trying to solve the sins we judge to exist in others instead of solving our own. Oh, and He has that whole thing about judgment in general too, but I digress.
It is disgusting when a church tries to say they are being bullied in their attempts to shove their beliefs down an entire nation's throat. Catholics absolutely have the right to believe what they want. Their right stops when it comes up against a citizen's rights to make choices for themselves.
They don't belong in an argument about medicine because it's none of their damned business, plain and simple. If you work in an industry that goes against your moral grain, do what the rest of us have to and work in a different industry. Medical rights and religious beliefs are two separate things, and should remain so. The next logical step would be take every masturbating male and put him in prison for murdering hundreds of millions of unborn babies.
There is separation of church and state for a reason. It's a double-sided benefit. It keeps government from telling churches how they must operate, and keeps religion out of laws intended to serve everyone regardless of their beliefs. Our right to medical choice should never be subject to religious or government interference. Employers should not get to pick and choose what type of medical benefits their employees are able to use. Employers should not even be able to inquire or in any way participate in their employee's private affairs.
How is it that the "land of the free" has become the land of intolerance and lies? The Jesus that they claim to worship tells us to mind our own business and clean up our sins before we concern ourselves with what others are doing. And, as O'Leary points out, God let the Tree of Knowledge stand. He didn't command bishops to forbid Adam and Eve, nor did He stop them from making their choices. What we do is between us and God, and we owe nothing else to anyone. The bishops can boss around those who choose to follow them, but the rest of the world has a choice. I hope this is political suicide for those who try to take away a woman's right to her body.
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