I was moved to write about the rule for contraception to be offered without co-pays by the homily I heard last Sunday. I suspect it is not the letter the Bishop hoped I'd write. I also forwarded a copy of this letter to all of my elected representatives, including the President. I thought I would share it here as well.
Recently, our parish priest included in his homily a letter from the Bishop concerning his opposition to new regulations requiring health insurers to include coverage for contraceptives with no additional cost or co-pays.
First, I would like to correct an inaccuracy. The Bishop’s letter claims it is a new situation for government to require contraceptive care be included in insurance coverage. New York State, as many others, already require employers, including most religiously affiliated institutions, to cover contraception in their health plans. The only change is that now they must cover the full cost. Eight states will have conscience protections expanded where currently all religious institutions are required to offer birth control coverage.
The Bishops are also concerned about the First Amendment and religious liberty. They seem to be looking at this a bit backwards. Allowing a religious institution to set rules is a government establishment of religion. No conscience is violated. An institution, like a corporation, is not a person. No Bishop would avail himself of the offered contraception. Real people, however, would have their rights trampled. People of other religions, or no religion, would be forced to follow religious dogma because of who employs them.
While it could be argued that they would be free to purchase their own contraceptives, we all know the reality. Most couldn’t afford the cost. Do only the wealthy deserve religious freedom? The Bishop’s view on this issue also twists God’s gift of free will. We were given freedom to believe or not, He would not force our love. The only “unprecedented assault on religious liberty” is coming from the Bishops themselves.
I also object to the use of the word “services”, in quotes, as if women’s health care is somehow not real health care. I would like to remind the Bishops that women’s bodies and lives are intricately intertwined with our reproductive systems. While pregnancy may not be a disease, it is fraught with risks. Maternal deaths are not uncommon. Even those wonderful women who have dedicated their lives to helping others by vowing to live chastely, such as Sisters who have vowed not to marry and won’t have children, are still affected by their reproductive systems. What happens when they need “services”? People of faith are not being made into second class citizens by the government, women are being treated as second class citizens by the the Bishops.