Cross-posted from Bold Faith Type
The most prominent witness at today's House Committee on Oversight and Government hearing on religious freedom was The Most Reverend William E. Lori, Catholic Bishop of Bridgeport Connecticut.
For his opening statement, Bishop Lori made an elaborate analogy between religiously-affiliated institutions being required to include birth control coverage in their insurance policies and a kosher deli being hypothetically required to serve pork to its customers.
From the perspective of the religious institution, Bishop Lori is right in his assessment that Catholic views on birth control are roughly equivalent to Orthodox Jewish views on pork.
However, his analogy ultimately fails because he neglects to consider the other set of competing rights here -- those of individuals whose health care will be affected. When it comes to the life and health of individual Americans, birth control is nothing like pork at all.
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