Countless Catholics and many others were outraged at a mandate by the Obama administration that they insisted infringed on their religious liberty.
They were right. The Health and Human Services Administration’s recent dictate that required organizations, regardless of their religious affiliation, to provide birth control and other contraceptive services to employees was an affront, even a slap in the face, to groups that preach against artificial means of birth control. The Obama administration changed the rule on Friday to require insurance companies to provide the services instead of the employers, but many of those who were angered by the action earlier in the week were not mollified.
Some Democrats who defended the Obama organization in this brouhaha insisted it was not a matter of freedom of religion/First Amendment rights. They argued it was a women’s health and women’s rights issue, but that became a specious argument when folks slowed down to consider that concerns about contraception are not unique to one sex.
Simply, the Obama administration overstepped its bounds on this action. And in a re-election year, getting into a donnybrook with the Catholic Church was more than unwise, particularly in a nation in which more than a quarter of the population is Catholic. The mandate also provided fuel to the fire for those on the right who insist the administration is determined to remove religion from the public square and beyond and gave Republicans a white-hot issue for the upcoming presidential campaign.
One of the most interesting twists was many prominent Democrats were not backing the administration on this issue. In fact, some Catholics working in the administration had urged that the rule not be enacted in the first place, according to reports.
Sadly, the administration decided Friday to take a sidestep instead of completely backing off its early mandate, even when a complete retreat would have been the right thing to do.
THE ISSUE:
Birth control rule.
WE SAY:
A huge overstep.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
They were right. The Health and Human Services Administration’s recent dictate that required organizations, regardless of their religious affiliation, to provide birth control and other contraceptive services to employees was an affront, even a slap in the face, to groups that preach against artificial means of birth control. The Obama administration changed the rule on Friday to require insurance companies to provide the services instead of the employers, but many of those who were angered by the action earlier in the week were not mollified.
Some Democrats who defended the Obama organization in this brouhaha insisted it was not a matter of freedom of religion/First Amendment rights. They argued it was a women’s health and women’s rights issue, but that became a specious argument when folks slowed down to consider that concerns about contraception are not unique to one sex.
Simply, the Obama administration overstepped its bounds on this action. And in a re-election year, getting into a donnybrook with the Catholic Church was more than unwise, particularly in a nation in which more than a quarter of the population is Catholic. The mandate also provided fuel to the fire for those on the right who insist the administration is determined to remove religion from the public square and beyond and gave Republicans a white-hot issue for the upcoming presidential campaign.
One of the most interesting twists was many prominent Democrats were not backing the administration on this issue. In fact, some Catholics working in the administration had urged that the rule not be enacted in the first place, according to reports.
Sadly, the administration decided Friday to take a sidestep instead of completely backing off its early mandate, even when a complete retreat would have been the right thing to do.
THE ISSUE:
Birth control rule.
WE SAY:
A huge overstep.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
