Catholics’ right to religious freedom ends starting in August 2013.
Well, that’s not exactly what the government says is happening, but make no mistake, that’s what is going on.
On Aug. 1, 2011 the Department of Health and Human Services’(HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that, beginning in August 2012, or 2013 for Catholics who get an extra year, private health insurance plans will be required to provide free coverage of all contraceptives for women approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This requirement also covers “emergency contraceptives” such as Plan B and Ella, both of which are drugs that can cause abortions.
This decree, however, also applies to all Catholic institutions in August 2013. Catholic colleges, schools, hospitals, and charities are being forced to give their employees a “benefit” that goes against their beliefs. The Catholic doctrine firmly states that they are against abortion and the use of contraceptives.
Seeing this as a violation of religious freedom, bishops, along with other Catholics across the country, appealed to President Barack Obama asking him to excuse Catholic institutions from this law. The Obama administration responded by rejecting the exemption sought by the Catholic Church. Instead, they said that Catholics would have an extra year, until August 2013, to comply. Basically, the Catholics have an extra year to abandon their morals.
So let me put this into perspective for you. If a JC teacher wants to buy Plan B to have an abortion, the school, our CATHOLIC school, has to pay for it.
Apparently, religious freedoms are only conditional.
How can the government create and stand by a law that is a direct violation of the First Amendment? They can’t. The First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
Last time I checked, the fact that I, along with other Catholics, believe abortion and the use of contraceptives is wrong was a way to exercise my right of religious freedom. The law clearly states that my right can’t be prohibited, yet that is exactly what the government is doing.
So my question for Sebelius and Obama is why can’t Catholic institutions be exempt from this law? If employees at a Catholic institution want to use contraceptives or receive an abortion, let them pay for it themselves. Besides, working at a Catholic institution implies that you understand and respect Catholic beliefs.
My problem here isn’t with the law. It’s with the government’s refusal to exempt Catholics based on their right to religious freedom. If you have a problem with this, like I did, talk about it in your religion classes. I talked about it in mine.
Don’t sit around and expect things to change. Stand up for what you believe in. If you think this law is wrong, talk about it. Write a letter to the government. You may think your one letter might not make a difference, but the more noise people make, the harder it’s going to be for the government to ignore us.
Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburg wrote a column in response to Obama’s rejection of the Catholics’ request called “To Hell with you.” He said that the Obama administration was saying “to hell with your religious beliefs.”
Well I say “to hell” with this law.
Emily Clarke is a Managing Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.