A Slippery Slope

The United States Department of Health and Human Services announced on January 20 that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include these "services" in the health insurance policies they offer and almost all individuals will be forced to pay for that coverage as part of the health insurance policies they purchase.

This ruling should be of great concern to all Americans regardless of religious belief, or position on pro-life/pro-choice issues. This ruling should be a red flag to all Americans of the danger of an Administration that has no respect for the rights of others and one that has the attitude of being the smartest guys in the room.

In so ruling, the Administration has undermined both the principle of religious conscience and the First Amendment to the Constitution in an unprecedented and profound way. Unless the ruling is overturned, faithful Catholics will be forced either to violate their consciences or to drop health coverage for employees and suffer penalties for doing so. The Administration's only concession was to give Catholic institutions one year to comply. This is not only inadequate but insulting as the Administration is basically saying this is the law of the land so take it or suffer the consequences of non-compliance. It betrays the faith of many Catholics who, until now, have supported this Administration with an honest will.

Catholic leaders across the country have made it clear they cannot comply with this ruling without compromising long held convictions and undermining Catholic identity. This ruling interferes with the basic right of Catholics to work for the common good.

In this ruling we have yet another example of an Administration that wants to force social change upon us in the worst possible way led by a President who cares little for the rights and convictions of the citizenry.

This ruling has nothing to do with abortion or contraception but has everything to do with this Administration displaying their arrogance toward the people and it has everything to do with individual liberty. Again, this president is forcing us to do something thru legislation just as he did with the Individual Mandate. This is another smoke and mirrors move, someone must pay for these mandates. The president keeps saying these "benefits" are free but someone must pay for it!


If this Administration can force us to buy insurance and pay for benefits we do not want, what is next? Whenever the government issues a mandate, in reality it is eliminating choice.

This ruling exposes Obama's steps toward unlimited power for the central government and its unique disdain for people who do not think like him. No change in wording will change Obama's position on the issue.

With his recent policy tweak, Obama asserts that insurance companies will do -for free- what faith based organizations do not want to do. Nonsense! Insurance companies will simply price their products based on actual cost. The courts are already considering the constitutionality of Obama Care. How can a government supposedly of the people, by the people and for the people punish the people if they do not want to shop at Obama's health care store?

Even though this issue is a direct threat to religious liberty, it is much bigger. It threatens the very essence of liberty by allowing government to dictate matters of individual discretion. Even if there was not a direct and wholly unconstitutional assault on the religious convictions of Catholics and other Christians, it is simply not the government's right to demand that an employer provide something that it does not want to give, or that employees do not want. If the president can demand employers to provide contraceptives or even abortion today, then next he may demand some other form of health coverage. He could then insist all employees be covered for dental and cosmetic surgery. Maybe I need a face lift but it is not a necessary function of the president to demand it.

The president's attempt to move the cost to the insurance companies is lame and laughable. It is not about adding forced benefits for people, it is about taking away the right of self-determination from people. No president has been granted that authority or power from the Constitution and it simply fails to meet the test of the "consent of the governed."

We should all object to the notion that we are required by the dictates of the president without Constitutional or legislative process to surrender the terms of our faith.

Nancy Pelosi was right about one thing, they needed to pass this legislation so we could all understand it. Well, they passed it and now we know. Speaker Boehner should put the ObamaCare bill back on the table for a vote. Let's see who is willing to put his or her name on it now that we know what is in it!

Obama is acting like a thug with a cavalier attitude that people of faith should cast aside their beliefs in favor of politically correct thinking. This is incredibly insulting and ignorant of the very nature of faith.

Contraception access is not the issue. It is available from many sources. The issue is who pays and whether all, including faith based organizations, must be made to kiss the ring of the American monarch and swear loyalty to his value system.

Henry the Eighth would be proud.

It is time for Obama to repent and Congress to repeal.

The Constitution is king, not Mr. Obama!