L.V. Tea Party Opposes Contraception Mandate
Lehigh Valley Tea Party says Obama contraception requirement is unconstitutional
Editor's Note: The following opinion column was written by Tom McFadden, who serves on the executive board of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party. A compromise announced over the weekend is still causing controversy including opposition by U.S. bishops.
This January 20, the Obama Administration issued a regulation requiring all employers to provide health care coverage for their employees for sterilization, contraception and abortive drugs or be penalized $2,000 per employee.
The only exception given was to churches, the actual houses of worship, but not to any other affiliated religious-based institutions such as, hospitals, schools, hospice centers, charities or other religious service organizations. This ruling is in direct violation of the basic religious principles of Catholics, Lutherans, Orthodox Jews, Seventh Day Adventists, and many other religious institutions.
It is also in direct violation of our First Amendment clause stating “Congress shall make no law…prohibiting the free exercise (of religion)." Notice, not even Congress can pass a law to this effect, never mind issuing a simple regulation from the executive branch.
The outraged response by the Catholic bishops was immediate; they had their pastors all across the nation read a letter to all their parishioners this past Sunday stating they cannot “comply with this unjust law without compromising our convictions." The Catholic Archbishop for Military Services, Timothy Broglio, went even further; He called on all Catholics “to resist the policy initiative…because it represents a violation of the freedom of religion recognized by the US Constitution."
Unfortunately, Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, had the Office of the Chief of Chaplains direct senior chaplains not to read the archbishop’s letter but to make an edited version available at the back of the chapel.
Such a contentious and insensitive ruling by this administration reflects a grievous disregard for our individual rights so clearly defined in our Constitution and a display of arrogance that should sound an alarm to all Americans, regardless of party, to denounce such action and demand its repudiation.
To paraphrase an old adage, “First they came for the Catholics, I did not speak out because I was not Catholic, then they came for other Christians, and I did not speak out because I was not Christian, then they came for Conservatives, and I did not speak out because I was not a Conservative, then they came for me, but there was no one left to speak for me”. It’s time to speak out.
The next meeting of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 2 at the Charles Chrin Community Center in Palmer Township.
Jon Geeting
7:28 am on Monday, February 13, 2012
First of all, this entire statement is moot because of the compromise the Obama administration issued on Friday, requiring all insurance companies to cover contraception instead.
Second, there's no actual freedom of speech issue with the pre-compromise order. It's been well-established in the courts that religious-affiliated employers are not churches, and must follow generally applicable laws that apply to all regular employers.
The Catholic Bishops were asking for a special exemption, but there was never a good reason to give it to them. We can't just be giving different groups the option of opting out of generally applicable laws just because they claim a moral objection.
I Am Knowledge
1:11 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
Since when should the government have the ability to tell an employer, any employer, what health care BENEFIT they have to give. Know what this will eventually lead to? Companies will STOP giving health insurance as a BENEFIT, do to the governments tinkering. You liberal leanings are well known. Only liberals think these things make sense, because they hate the free market. Usually because they have crappy low paying jobs, either because they didn't study or studied something useless. The COMPROMISE is moronic. Oh ya, the insurance companies can just "provide this for free". DUH. The insurance company will just raise the rates for the policy they are supplying to the churches, to cover the cost of the services they have to provide for free. Democrats are so krap for brains.
Ken
2:22 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
All this so-called compromise changed was that religiously affiliated organziations could leave out the fact that the insurance they are REQUIRED to provide for their employees covers contraception (including abortifacients)---instead they will get spearate notification from the insurer...the organization still has to provide coverage that is diametrically opposed to its fundamental tenets.
The moment the government requires them to purchase insurance, and requires that that insurance cover contraception, then yes it does become a freedom of religion issue.
Rosemary B
8:59 am on Monday, February 13, 2012
Since it is the churches who pay for the insurance then the churches ARE paying for contraception. .In reality there is no compromise there at all.
Salisbury Resident
2:44 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
BINGO!
careless fills
5:11 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
Many employers are self insured. That's basically a pay as you go plan, since a large group of a just a thousand would be large enough to take the good with the bad.
One of my former employers was that size, and when they had a heart transplant case for close to $1 million, that was a major hit on their $10 million annual budget for healthcare, and the overage contributed to a reduction in profitability and bonuses. Thus there was no doubt that we were self-insured, even if an insurance company was acting as the administrator who did the paper work. I can name several school districts that do the same thing - and all internally with no outsourced administrator.
Thus, it would not be surprising if a Catholic diocese was also self insured for health benefits, and then they WOULD be paying for abortions, which for their religious reasons makes it reprehensible for them.
Jim Chenault
10:21 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Healthcare Law does not pay for Abortions .
Tony
7:49 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
First, health insurance should not even be tied to the employer at all. It only causes more cost to the employer. Individuals should pay for it. Second, I would of loved to have the Catholic church come out this strong when their priests were molesting little children. Third, 98% of practicing Catholics already use some form of contraceptive. Practice what you preach. It's ridiculous to compromise what benefits women should receive or not by a bunch of men dictating it. I love the fact that republicans want to protect life so bad but once life is on this Earth, they tell to go scratch off. Hypocrites to say the least. Always preaching to cut American benefits but have no problem at all with providing for Non-Americans with foreign policy. Hence Ron Paul not doing so well in the polls. You want conservative, Ron Paul is where it is with the bunch of idiots we have to vote for. Santorum? are you kidding me. This guy is the biggest government we will ever see. He wants to dictate his beliefs on to all. Romney, dont even get me started, biggest liberal I think ever ran for President.
careless fills
8:31 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
Regarding the Pope: a friend once told me that with regards to sterilization, (s)he lived by this adage: "He no play-uh the game, he no make-uh the rules!"