My Fellow Americans

You all know I don't like getting into politics on this blog. That's not the point of it, and I'm not particularly fond of politics, anyway. However, in light of President Obama's singing of a truly historic piece of legislation, I think it is my duty to join with many others who have spoken out on the issue, and to urge you to do the same.

On January 20th, President Obama signed the Department of Health and Human Services mandate which forces all employers (with an exception or two) to provide healthcare to their employees which covers abortafacients, the full range of contraceptives, and sterilization. The exceptions are employers with fewer than fifty (50) employees, and religious organizations which only hire and only serve people of that religion.

The President has made it abundantly clear that no broader religious exemptions will be made, so any organization of any faith that opposes contraception or abortion will be forced to purchase this insurance. The one "allowance" the administration has given is that religious organizations that object to the mandate can have an extra year to decide if they want to:

A) Violate their consciences and religious beliefs,
B) Stop hiring and serving people who do not adhere to their religious beliefs,
C) Pay up to $2,000 per employee (and student, in the case of universities), or
D) Shut down altogether

Now, just as a tiny civics refresher, here is the First Amendment, verbatim: "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."* Did you catch that first part? Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... I like it. What I don't like is the prospect of conscientious objectors being forced to violate their religious beliefs. Wouldn't it be great if the Constitution forbade the government from doing that? Oh wait! It totally does! It's right there in the part that says "...or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This mandate is completely unconstitutional as written.

Whew, glad we cleared that up. But wait, our government, headed by President Obama, seems perfectly willing to let the law stand as it was passed, without adding any protections or exemptions for religious organizations. Nevermind the fact that people are more than free to seek employment with an entity that will provide this kind of health insurance, or that the religious organizations that seek this exemption do not even make up a simple majority of employers in this country, let alone a vast one, or that exemptions of the kind that is being sought have been made in literally every other bill of this nature that has ever been passed, and that the government cannot force anyone to purchase anything. This mandate is a violation of the rights of every American who objects to contraception and abortion, and we cannot let it stand.

Many times in U.S. history, the government has made foolish, bad, or discriminatory policies which have infringed upon the rights of a segment of the population, and the people have always stood up to oppose those policies in one form or another. This is one of those policies, and so now is one of those times for us to fight and defeat this mandate. Remember that all of us, young and old, every color, creed, and ideology have the power to stop this thing in its tracks. It is possible. We are the "We" in "We the People".

I am also asking you who do not agree with the Catholic Church's teachings on contraception and abortion to fight this with us. It is not as if contraceptives and sterilization cannot be gotten elsewhere, or from employers who do not object to them. This is a matter of religious liberty, not competing moralities. And do kindly remember that many of the institutions that oppose this mandate could make the real decision to close their doors and stop providing their services to anyone. They don't check your creed at the door, they serve you because it is part of their own religious conviction. Keep in mind, as well, that if the government can do it to us, they will see no problem doing it to anyone else. This is a threat facing the whole of the American people, not just some.

Please, speak up. Make yourselves heard. Sign petitions, write emails and letters, protest, DO SOMETHING. We can fight this and win, but in order to win, we do need to fight.

*First Amendment text comes from the National Archives website.