The latest news coming out of the White House is President Obama' mandate for contraceptives. 1st he required all religious organizations to offer contraception in their insurance coverage for all employees without charge, free. After the Catholic Church leaders pushed back President Obama said he would "accommodate" religious institutions and charities by not requiring them to pay for contraception, but now the insurance companies must provide them free of charge.
United States Bishops have rejected this accommodation for reasons stated in this letter. According to the Bishops, "At this point, it would appear that self-insuring religious employers, and religious insurance companies, are not exempt from this mandate." I would totally agree. Organizations like Christian Healthcare and National Jewish Health may be required to provide birth control contraceptives under HHS rules. Other religious affiliates that are basically insurance companies servicing their particular religion, may also be required to provide contraception regardless of their religious beliefs.
It seems HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has persuaded President Obama to believe that contraception such as the morning after pill and birth control pills are healthcare drugs similar to penicillin. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact most birth control pills warn that prolonged use may slightly increase a woman's risk of breast cancer and cervical cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.
This how the Bishops stated it, "First, we objected to the rule forcing private health plans — nationwide, by the stroke of a bureaucrat's pen—to cover sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion. All the other mandated "preventive services" prevent disease, and pregnancy is not a disease. Moreover, forcing plans to cover abortifacients violates existing federal conscience laws. Therefore, we called for the rescission of the mandate altogether." I think everyone can agree pregnancies are not an illness or disease.
The 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution emphatically states:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
In simple terms since Congress is the only element of Gov that can write laws, the Gov including the President cannot write any rule or law that prohibits churches, religious charities or their affiliates from exercising their religious beliefs. This would include their decision not to offer birth control pills or any other form of contraception.
It wasn't long ago that Congress attempted to restrict how the internet was being used in America. The public perceived it to be an attempt to censor speech and pushed back against their Bill. Congress gave in to the public outcry and killed the bill. This is one example of why the approval rating for Congress is at 10%. President Obama implied that if this Bill had passed Congress he would have signed it into law. Everyone but Congress and President Obama saw this as an attack on free speech and I agree.
As I see it this latest little tidbit coming from the Obama Healthcare law is both a war on religion and an attack on our Constitution. Is President Obama trying to do this for purely ideological reasons or in this election cycle is he simply trying to divide and conquer. Remember it wasn't long ago that President Obama was wailing against Wall Street, calling them fat cats, and wailing against the evils of Super Pacs. He also campaigned against the 1% and was instrumental in the birth of the Occupy Wall Street crowd. Now he has dropped the "fat cat" language and is accepting money from Wall Street and Super Pacs. Only President Obama knows why he is doing the things he is doing. Maybe he is still angry at the Supreme Court after his 9-0 loss in the Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC case. Most people have renamed it the Obama vs Religious Liberty case.
It is clear to me that if President Obama and his Progressive allies are waging a war on religion in America, he will lose. Its also clear if this is a war on our Constitution he will likewise lose. In the end he will also lose his bid for reelection and may very well cause the Democrats to lose control of the Senate.
