I Am Pro-Choice

I am a Catholic, and I am pro-choice.  I believe taxpayers should be able to choose not to pay for abortions.  I also believe religious institutions should be allowed to freely exercise their religious beliefs as is their first amendment right.  The first amendment to the United States Constitution states in part:  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” yet it is now a requirement of Obamacare that every Catholic institution larger than a single church — and even including some single churches — must pay for contraceptives, sterilization, and morning-after abortifacients for its employees.   Each of these is directly contrary to the Catholic faith and in violation of their first amendment rights. 

Catholic Bishops have been forced to sue to regain their rights so they are not forced to violate their faith.

During the health care debates, President Obama said he was not seeking federal funding of abortion.  He spoke on September 9, 2009 to a joint session of Congress avowing that “under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortion.” The President even met with Archbishop Timothy Dolan and assured him that when the final version of the policy was eventually released, any fears would be allayed.   With the President’s assurances, most in the Catholic leadership either did not oppose the bill or actively supported it.  That was a big mistake. Obama telephoned Dolan on the morning of January 20 to inform him that the only concession he intended to offer in the final policy was to extend the deadline for conformity to August 2013. Every other aspect of the policy enunciated by Sebelius would remain rigidly in place.

As a result Catholic Bishops have brought together 43 plaintiffs in 12 lawsuits against the Obama administration. The suits allege that the mandate violates the religious freedom of all Catholics by forcing individuals and institutions to pay into a health care system that provides contraceptives and abortifacients free of charge to all who want them.   In addition, “Harkening back to the civil rights era and the struggles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced in an online bulletin that the Catholic Church intends to practice civil disobedience to the unconstitutional Obama Health and Human Services mandate.”

This is not a partisan issue and no one is trying to refuse women access to contraception. Access will still be there for those who choose to use these products. No one is taking away their choice so why take away the rights of those whose consciences and beliefs say the use of these products is wrong and want no part of providing them? Where is the choice for these citizens?  This Administration is only giving these citizens the choice to do as the government says or be punished. That doesn’t sound like much of a choice? It sounds more like discrimination. It sounds like a violation of the Constitution.

So I anticipate that even my Libertarian friends, with their emphasis on the Constitution, freedom and liberty will support religious institutions as this Administration continues to trample on the First Amendment.  For once, we can all be pro-choice- we can choose  to come together to show the Federal Government that it is We the People who have the right to choose how to live our own lives and what we want to believe. These are unalienable rights we hold because of who we are as human beings created by God. It is the whole premise behind the Constitution. It is this freedom that allows us to have true choice.