It’s not religious freedom
Weekly Standard: Obamacare Vs. The Catholics
It is now a requirement of Obamacare that every Catholic institution larger than a single church? – and even including some single churches – must pay for contraceptives, sterilization, and morning-after abortifacients for its employees. Each of these is directly contrary to the Catholic faith. But the Obama administration does not care. They have said, in effect, <a href=http://www.npr.org/2012/02/07/146511839/weekly-standard-obamacare-vs-the-catholics”>Do what we tell you – or else</a>.
Exactly. In regulating an insurance business decision- and that is all that this is- the critics of Obama see the end of civilization. The fact that no one actually told the Catholic church what to believe apparently doesn’t sink in to the professional victims crowd. In essence, the ruling states that if you sell insurance, then you must be bound by certain laws. If you find those rules too harsh, or not in keeping with your beliefs, then you certainly don’t have to obey them. Just quit selling insurance. For those of us more inclined to reality than Catholics, its not really a that big of a deal.
What if instead of discriminating against women with their ban on offering contraception, what if it were gays? But the same argument made by Catholics to discriminate against women could easily be made against gays. After all, discriminating against homosexuality is the very air that Bill Donahue, Rick Santorium and Michelle Bachmann breathe- and don’t believe that they haven’t thought about “banning the gay”. And if this nation really was a “Christian Nation” in reality instead of their fevered minds, they’d probably do it.
But they can’t. Discrimination does not hide behind the skirts of “religious freedom”, no matter how passionately Fox News bellows. The Catholic church is, just like all of us, free to believe any silly notion it wants. And like us their ability to “swing their fists” ends before they touch my face. But if they want to engage in a business, then you have made the decision to accept the rules of society. What you “believe” means absolutely nothing. You are selling a product, and that product is regulated by the government. You might find the Bible gives you license to tell a woman what she can do with her body- but not everyone does (in fact, not even Catholics believe it). Religion has nothing to do with it.
And if you don’t like it, move. I hear Uganda is nice this time of year.
