So, the most recent roll-out of the Affordable Care Act (sometimes derogatorily called Obamacare) is to require all insurance policies to cover birth control without a co-pay. This seems great… unless you’re Catholic, of course. Catholics don’t “officially” believe in birth control. There are several other very conservative denominations who also equate birth control with pre-emptive abortion,… Read more “The Pill” on Both Your Houses!
So, the most recent roll-out of the Affordable Care Act (sometimes derogatorily called Obamacare) is to require all insurance policies to cover birth control without a co-pay. This seems great… unless you’re Catholic, of course. Catholics don’t “officially” believe in birth control. There are several other very conservative denominations who also equate birth control with pre-emptive abortion, but Catholics are the largest voter block, so I’m focusing on them as the example.
It is very surprising to me that Obama would push this issue so forcefully. It came up when the drafts of the legislation were still in their infancy (pun intended), and he seemed to be backing off it then. If you are a Catholic hospital that provides Catholic health insurance, both for your employees and other Catholics, you are now being required by your government to provide funding for a medication that you morally oppose. Of course, the other part of the law that will go into effect in 2014 is that every employer will be required to provide insurance, so Catholics could not even opt out of providing a “pill inclusive” health insurance even if they wanted to.
I see this as the US government prohibiting the “free exercise” of religious belief in regards to reproduction. It seems to me to be a fairly clear violation of the First Amendment. So naturally, Catholic diocese all over the nation are protesting profusely.
BUT!…
Then there’s this: According to Reuters “Most Catholic women in U.S. use birth control”. So that kinda takes the fire out of all the protest a bit. Then there’s also “Catholics for Choice”.
So, even though it seems like a clear First Amendment violation, Catholics seem to have violated their own beliefs long before this debate even started. Kinda looks like a lose-lose scenario.
UPDATE: Looks like an exemption is being enacted for religious employers. Seems wise.
