It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
I have been in hiding for Lent, holed up in Toad Hall with a breviary and Rosary. Well, OK, I haven't really been in hiding, but I have been away from Ricochet since Tuesday, February 21. So I am sure this topic has been discussed and debated at great length already, but I wanted to share with you all an essay published today in my local paper on the contraception mandate, mostly because I am proud of it. (If you follow the link above, you can see my real name!)
It’s About the Constitution, Not Contraception
No one is seeking to outlaw contraception. Contraception is readily available across the country at a low cost. Many insurance plans already cover it, and for those whose plans do not, low-cost riders are often available. Access to contraception is not threatened. The question Americans face is whether or not the federal government has the power to force people to purchase a product which violates their consciences and the free exercise of their religion, contravening the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
At our nation’s founding, Catholics were a small minority and unwelcome in many parts of the country. However, because of the guarantee of freedom of religion, millions of Catholics emigrated to the United States to help build our nation. Today Catholics are about 22% of the population of the country as a whole.
Catholic organizations serve the poorest and most vulnerable without regard to age, creed, sex, or income level. They run hundreds of hospitals, comprising the nation’s largest group of non-profit systems, serving millions of patients with dignity. Catholic schools educate nearly 2.5 million students. Throughout New York State, Fidelis Care insures health care for 725,000 people. Catholic Charities in New York coordinates a network of nearly one hundred agencies that served 356,000 of the most vulnerable and needy last year, including women in crisis pregnancies and victims of domestic violence.
These Catholic organizations exist entirely because of the desire of individual Catholics to follow their consciences and religion. The command of our founder to love one another as He loved us is obeyed by those who support these organizations with their time, money, and love.
Many of these organizations are not run directly by the Church, but by religious orders and affiliated institutions that follow distinctly Catholic directives to uphold and protect the dignity of each person. Serving millions of Americans, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, they flourish in a land in which the fundamental right of people to exercise their religion freely without state interference is guaranteed in our Constitution.
Today, the federal government threatens the existence of these institutions through the provisions of Obamacare that require employers to pay for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilizations, and contraception coverage or face fines of $100 per day per employee. The Catholic Church has consistently taught that these practices are incompatible with the Catholic religion. The Obama Administration offered what it called a compromise, to pass on the costs of contraception to the insurers so that employers do not pay for it directly. This is farcical. Insurance companies cannot provide any service for free. The costs will be passed on to the employers paying for insurance coverage.
Our nation is drowning in debt, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will be 190% of gross domestic product by 2035. The current debt is more than $49,000 per American, or over $136,000 per taxpayer. Mandatory entitlement spending amounts to about 60% of all government spending. Instead of dealing with these problems, the Administration and its allies falsely raise the specter of theocratic forces set to punish women and interfere with their personal choices.
Even people who support contraception access can recognize that it is dangerous for Americans to yield to the government the power to supersede our Constitutionally guaranteed rights. If these universal human rights can be abrogated by politicians, what will happen when a different party is in power?
The matter at hand is not a threat to women’s access to contraception. The matter at hand is the unconstitutional and unprecedented seizure of power by the Obama Administration.
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Sep '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Great essay- thanks for posting it!
Feb '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Thanks, Judithann!
I enjoyed writing it -- it was originally a letter to the editor, which they opted not to run because they disagreed with my statement that no one is seeking to outlaw contraception. After some discussion on the phone with the editor, they invited me to submit this "Face to Face" essay, which was up against a (very poorly written) essay by Reverend William Rider, an Episcopalian rector on the board of directors of the local Planned Parenthood today. I included footnotes for about every sentence, so that no claim I made was unsubstantiated, but didn't include them here.
Funny aside, which Breitbart et al. would appreciate, although this was a "Face to Face," they failed to include my "face" in the online version of the opinion page. Honest mistake or deliberate? You decide!
Sep '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
The media are always so snarky, but it sounds like you dealt with them beautifully. Congrats!
Nov '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Thanks, as ever, Mama Toad! Beautifully put...It seems the "compromise" isn't clear on the status of dioceses themselves (which often self-insure.) I expect to see the Cheshire Cat's grin anytime now...
(I'm also rather an online hermit for Lent; please and thank you: Pray for me, as I for thee!
Feb '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Here in NY State, many diocese have self-insured simply to avoid NYS law which required many of the same provisions as Obamacare, but many Catholic organizations cannot afford to do so. See this article from the NY Times for an unbalanced but sadly mostly true story.
Jan '12
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Beautifully written article, Mama Toad. Thank you for sharing with us.
It so important that people realize that this is a constitutional issue and shouldn't have anything to do with what one personally thinks of contraception. This morning, my bishop said Mass and he made this same point during his homily. He then went on to say that, as Catholics, it's time we face up to the principles of our faith--including the Church's teaching on contraception--but he was quite clear that the current debate should not be about contraception, but about how the HHS mandate violates religious liberty. It was so refreshing to hear that in church.
Feb '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
smp16: Thank you. I agree, of course. That said, I will also argue, all the time and anywhere, that contraception is wrong. It damages human dignity. I will answer as such to anyone who asks me.
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
This is wonderful, Mama Toad. Really just superb. You've concisely and elegantly driven to the heart of the matter. Now if only I could get every last one of my facebook friends to read it...
Apr '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Thank you, Mama Toad, 1000 times, thank you. I am glad you emerged from your Lenten observations to bring this to us. (Nice to see your name, too!)
Sep '10
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
I hope its not just the ladies high fiving you Mama Toad: that was a very, very well written summation: I can see why they were scared to run it.
Feb '12
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
I didn't need to read the essay. The title said it all.
Clean Clear and Concise, Mama Toad
Jun '10
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
I forget who it was, but someone in the clergy compared it to forcing kosher delicatessens to provide free ham sandwiches to their non-Jewish, or non-observant, employees. And if they're not willing to do that, at least contract with the non-kosher restaurant across the street to provide the required free ham sandwiches.
Considering that birth control is just as available today as a ham sandwich, why force any religious person to do what they believe amounts to defying and disobeying the Almighty, just to offer someone a price break? My eternal soul is worth more than the price of a box of birth control pills, let alone a ham sandwich.
Aug '10
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
I read that Rush advertisers are leaving. Those companies who leave will see declining sales anyway, but unless Rush says otherwise, I assume fair-thinking people should now boycott those who have left. That includes other broadcasters who are still accepting their money.
Jul '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
I have come to the conclusion that most of our citizens can care less about the constitution unless they can use it to beat their fellow citizens over the head with it. It is only useful to them if it can be used to get them out of jail, extort money from their fellow citizens or gain some other advantage over others. They do not understand how unique it is or why it is so important. This seems to be even more so with our political masters, whose casual disregard for the rule of law and the intent of law is so frequent and blatant that it barely causes comment much less outrage from the citizenry at large.
Mar '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
What I appreciate most about your article, Mama Toad, is that it makes our case concisely, logically, and articulately, without simultaneously making the opposition's case for it--that is, it puts the lie to their charges and gives them no ammunition against us.
Apr '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Well spoken, well said.
Mar '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Great job, Mama! Thanks for keeping the issue focused on the real problem of the church being forced to pay for something against its belief.
Mama Toad:
I enjoyed writing it -- it was originally a letter to the editor, which they opted not to run because they disagreed with my statement that no one is seeking to outlaw contraception.
Who did they argue is trying to outlaw contraception, and how?
Feb '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Mendel: Great job, Mama! Thanks for keeping the issue focused on the real problem of the church being forced to pay for something against its belief.
Mama Toad:
I enjoyed writing it -- it was originally a letter to the editor, which they opted not to run because they disagreed with my statement that no one is seeking to outlaw contraception.
Who did they argue is trying to outlawcontraception, and how? · 6 minutes ago
Rick Santorum. Here's the link the editor sent me. Really. No, really.
Oct '11
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Thanks mama, well said...reading it makes me more embarassed when I think of Ms. Fluke empty, silly and dangerous speech!
Dec '10
Re: It's about the Constitution, not Contraception
Colleen,
You are completely right. Those who do not see the threat from a secular tyranny are stupid or blind or both. FREE EXERCISE!
Regards,
Jim