Fortnight to Freedom - Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

     The Catholic Bishops have begun a two week campaign leading up to July 4th with a centerpiece of removing contraceptive coverage from health insurance reform.  Of course, the Supreme Court any minute now may end or modify the Affordable Care Act, which may make this debate moot.
  
     They are calling it a “Fortnight for Freedom” and cloaking their objection to modern methods of contraception in a religious liberty argument.  It is a classic example of those on the religious right who would restrict individual freedom to make private sexual choices co-opting language to confuse and gain supporters.  It is reminiscent of the right’s coinage of “partial-birth abortion” for abortion procedures after 20 weeks and “death panels” in health care.

    As a religious leader and as a person of faith, I of course support religious freedom.  So does the U.S. Constitution and so I presume do you.  To me, and millions of people of faith, religious freedom means that all persons should be free to make their own personal decisions about their sexual and reproductive lives, including their decisions about when, whether, or if to have children.  These decisions are optimally informed by their conscience, faith tradition, religious beliefs and families, but ultimately they are deeply personal decisions that individuals can and should have the freedom to make. 

    Religious freedom means that the government should not privilege the teachings of one religion over another or deny individual religious freedom.  Individuals must have the right to accept or reject the principles of their own faith without legal restrictions.  The Bishops do not speak for all faith traditions on contraception; indeed they don’t even speak for the people in their pews who use and support family planning in overwhelming majorities.  It is past time for the Vatican and the American Bishops to understand that they cannot claim final moral authority in domestic – or as we saw in Rio last week international – discourse.

    It is up to each of us to not allow the Bishops or anyone else to co-opt religious freedom.  Universal access to family planning does not require anyone to use contraception – rather it assures that individual moral agency and conscience are respected.  Supporting religious freedom means supporting the right of all of us to make our own moral decisions.  We know a wolf in sheep’s clothing when we see it.