In the last few weeks there have been many people decrying a supposed war on religion being waged by President Obama and his administration.
The issue originally began when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued new mandates requiring employers to cover, at no extra charge, the cost of contraceptives with an exception for houses of worship.
The controversy involves many religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, that operate hospitals and have employees of other faiths.
President Obama’s administration ruled that they must provide cost free access to contraceptives if they employ those of other faiths and beliefs.
Many religious organizations opposed the ruling immediately, feeling that the state was interfering with religion because it forced them to pay for contraceptives. These religious organizations, however, run various institutions that employ others that are not of the same faith.
When they deny contraceptive access to those employees, they are effectively imposing their religious beliefs on their employees.
Should contraceptives be denied on religious grounds? | anqa/Flickr.com
The Catholic Church was especially quick to condemn the new mandates because of the church’s long held belief that contraceptives are immoral. Apparently, they never expressed this belief to their congregations. Surveys have concluded that 98 percent of Catholics use some form of contraception.
There is a huge dissonance between religious leaders and the real world, and this only makes religions look more antiquated than it already does.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops took center stage in the debate and argued that the new mandates were an unprecedented assault on religious liberty. Catholic organizations would be heavily impacted because of the multitude of schools and hospitals run by the Catholic Church.
The Bishops’ argument is disingenuous at best because churches and houses of worship are completely exempt from the rule. Only extraneous operations such as clinics and hospitals are covered since they serve the general public and employ people of various faiths and beliefs.
When a religious group stops being just a religious group and begins to provide other services, they should be subject to regulations just as any other business or organization is.
Conservatives quickly jumped on the bandwagon to criticize the president for the perceived war on religion. The aloof Republican presidential candidates kept trying to outdo each other in terms of criticism.
Mitt Romney condemned the mandates while promising to end all Title X funding for family planning services which, incidentally, was implemented by Republican President Richard Nixon. Rick Santorum took it even further and said that health insurance companies should not be required to provide birth control at all.
Shortly after the controversy erupted, President Obama’s administration altered the new rule to require that health insurance companies provide contraception rather than the institutions themselves.
The altered rule also requires the religious organizations to direct employees seeking contraception towards access to contraception. This was still not satisfactory for the Catholic Bishops and Republicans who attacked the new rule as superficial gesture.
This is and always will be a losing issue for Republicans because Americans overwhelmingly support the president on this issue. According to a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, 57 percent of Catholic voters support the requirement while 55 percent opposed repealing it. Nationwide, 65 percent of Americans support the requirement.
Republicans have continuously isolated themselves into a position that only a small minority shares. While these statements and positions may play well with the Republican base, it will not play well during the general election. A majority of voters support this requirement and it will be hard to win an election while simultaneously opposing access to contraception.
The controversy eventually culminated in a surreal hearing by Representative Darrell Issa on the new rules proposed by the administration. It was complete with three massive posters of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and an all male panel of religious figures decrying an assault on their religious liberty.
This was a congressional hearing about the proposed rules on requiring access to contraceptives and not a single woman was there to testify. Democrats tried to have Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke testify but were denied by the chairman Rep. Darrell Issa on procedural grounds.
Sandra Fluke suffers from polycystic ovarian syndrome and requires hormonal birth control for medicinal reasons to treat her symptoms. She was unable to attain coverage through her school because Georgetown is affiliated as a Jesuit university and therefore does not provide access to contraceptives.
She is a woman directly impacted by these rule changes and she was ignored at the congressional hearing. The new rules will help women, such as Sandra, obtain the medication they need and help woman gain easier access to contraception.
This may upset some religious leaders, but they are in the small minority because a majority of Americans support the rule changes. There is no war on religion or an assault on religious liberties and it is disingenuous to say that there is. This is solely about ensuring equal access and care for women.
Alex Caraballo can be reached at acaraballo21@gmail.com.
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