Friday morning, President Barack Obama announced that he would not require religious institutions; I.E., St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, to provide free contraception to their employees. Now, that was one heavy decision.
I really don’t know where I come in on this debate. On the one hand, many families in the Detroit, Livonia, and surrounding areas are on a tight budget and could benefit from free contraception and I believe should be afforded the same accommodations as women working for non-religious institutions. They should not be bound by the religious boundaries of Catholicism (or other religions) when all aspects of the religion may not apply to those who believe in it.
On the other hand, how can our government impose their beliefs upon a religious institution which has their functions, rules, morals, etc. based on a belief that children are a gift from God and tampering with God’s will is more than frowned upon.
It is a moral dilemma in the least; not to mention a debate of personal rights, government involvement, the far reach of religion, and civil liberties. What is a president to do?
By forcing these institutions to provide free contraceptive care to their employees, he would be asking them to put the structure of their lives, teachings, and rules aside and to adopt the beliefs of others. Is this not against one of the fundamental foundations of America--freedom to worship? And, whether you subscribe to the belief that contraception is against God’s will or not, do you not take the fact that certain religions do not support contraception into account before accepting a job at a religious institution? If an employee knowingly accepts a position at a company that outwardly does not believe in maternity leave, would it not be ignorant to expect the company to allow that employee a leave of absence due to the birth of her child?
Personally, I am still extremely torn because, as a woman, I believe in a woman’s right to choose and believe that contraception is a realistic and prime alternative to abortion, but also support the separation of church and state.
Do you feel that President Obama and his administration made the right decision? Would requiring religious institutions to provide free contraceptive care to employees cross the line of religion and government? What do you think?
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