It appears the the Obama administration may back down from its latest and most high-profile attack on religious liberty. If this is indeed the case, there are a few lessons to be taken.
1. While the administration can lose in court (e.g. the Hossana-Tabor decision) or be intimidated by political pressure, its instincts are very much against religious freedom. Even if they back down here, Obama and his minions will continue to assault religious freedom.
2. The intrusion of the federal government into all aspects of life will only increase under Obama and the Democrats. What we’re hoping for here is merely a small concession in the broad regulatory scheme of Obamacare. Even if religious institutions are not forced to provide goods and services they consider immoral, the federal government will still be mandating and regulating healthcare for everyone else.
3. Liberals have almost no concept of liberty. That employers and insurance companies be allowed to decide what to cover is an utterly alien concept for most liberals. That people can purchase birth control for themselves (rather than the government forcing their employers to provide it via health insurance) is apparently incomprehensible. They seem determined to have the government intervene whenever they think something is wrong. “Oh no, they’re running the health insurance for employees of their charity the wrong way! We must do something!”
4. Our culture assumes that contraception is necessary and good, and that therefore free (well, someone still pays for it, but you know what I mean) contraception must be good. Those of us who live contraception free should perhaps be more bold in presenting the alternative. It is possible to live without contraception. My lovely wife and I do not use it, and are happier for that.
February 10, 2012 at 6:01 pm |
[...] liberty, but this can only be considered a defensive victory, and but a partial one at that. The points I made the other day when rumors of such a retreat began still stand, but I would like to add a [...]