Thursday, March 29, 2012

Catholic cardinal accuses Obama of attempting to divide the church

(Timothy Cardinal) Dolan speaks with Bill O’Reilly on last night’s O’Reilly Factor and suggests that the Obama administration misled the bishops on their intent, and that they have been “shrewd” in their efforts to divide the faithful - Ed Morrissey/HotAir

Cardinal Dolan never quite makes the salient point that the bishops aren’t seeking a legal ban on contraception. O’Reilly frames his question as though they are, but this isn’t a question of banning anything. Access to contraception is so prevalent that the CDC found that 99% of all sexually-active women seeking to avoid pregnancy was able to use it in its long-term study from 2009. The Catholic Church hasn’t proposed a ban at all, and neither have Republicans, conservatives, or anyone of any significance at all.

No one is even suggesting that the law ban employers or insurers from covering contraception, if they so choose. What has been said is that employers, insurers, and colleges shouldn’t be forced to provide contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization for free. First off, it’s not free at all; those costs have to get covered in some manner, most likely through premium hikes applied to everyone. Second, the need for contraception is almost always elective, and doesn’t treat a health deficiency, since fertility isn’t a disease (and many insurers cover therapeutic use of hormone treatments already anyway). Finally, for people who want the church, employers, and the government to respect their sexual privacy, the mandate seems a strange way to accomplish that. On top of that, the free exercise of religion has to include not being forced to violate one’s beliefs simply for entering into an employer relationship.