On the Diane Rehm show today, according to my husband who sometimes listens to NPR while he’s driving from order to order, a man called in. They were discussing the Administration’s decision on contraceptive coverage. The gist of what the man asked, as I got it from Mark, is that the man said he got a vasectomy from a Catholic hospital, so why can’t women get contraception? The lawyer on with Ms. Rehm was a bit startled, then said, he shouldn’t have.
I’ll stack my religious faith and spirituality up against anyone on the right, because that’s what this comes down to, right? That’s the battle on which the religious conservatives want to fight. It’s unseemly, because it thrives on division and distracts from the actual purpose of Pres. Obama’s policy decision. Dividing secular public policy meant to aid women, particularly those in the challenged means category, and helping them to be more autonomous and capable of planning their lives, which begins with pregnancy.
As with anything connected to women’s freedoms, religious conservatives, no matter the political party, have chose to attach a political cost to helping women maintain more freedom. Already, David Axelrod has telegraphed the White House will compromise. This is where Democrats and Republicans become one large political party, both willing to use women’s autonomy as a chess piece on their political play board. It’s why my vote is up for grabs in the upcoming 2012 elections.
The connection to something greater, however it’s defined, has guided me throughout my life. This is part of what I talk about in my book, which appears in the chapter “Is Freedom Just for Men?” That my book has never been more timely when it comes to that chapter and the current discussion is enriching.
Below is the text of an email sent out by Catholics for Choice. It lays out some of the President’s faith allies, of which I am one.
February 8, 2012, Washington, DC – Today, twenty major mainstream religious leaders released a statement supporting the January 20, 2012 announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services that contraceptive services must be covered by most insurance policies without deductibles or co-pays, and that only purely sectarian organizations are exemptfrom this requirement.
Catholics for Choice; the Central Conference of American Rabbis; Concerned Clergy for Choice; Disciples Justice Action Network; Episcopal Divinity School; Episcopal Women’s Caucus; Hadassah; the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation; Jewish Women International;
Methodist Federation for Social Action; Muslims for Progressive Values; the National Council of Jewish Women; Planned Parenthood Clergy Advisory Board; the Rabbinical Assembly; the Religious Coalition to Reproductive Choice; the Religious Institute; Society for Humanistic Judaism; The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; Union Theological Seminary; Unitarian Universalist Association; and United Church of Christ represent millions of religious leaders
and people of faith across the country.
Together, the leaders of these Christian, Jewish and Muslim national organizations affirmed:
“We stand with President Obama and Secretary Sebelius in their decision to reaffirm the importance of contraceptive services as essential preventive care for women under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and to assure access under the law to American women, regardless of religious affiliation. We respect individuals’ moral agency to make decisions about their sexuality and reproductive health without governmental interference or legal restrictions.
We do not believe that specific religious doctrine belongs in health care reform – as we value our nation’s commitment to church-state separation. We believe that women and men have the right to decide whether or not to apply the principles of their faith to family planning decisions, and to do so they must have access to services. The Administration was correct in requiring institutions that do not have purely sectarian goals to offer comprehensive preventive health care. Our leaders have the responsibility to safeguard individual religious liberty and to help improve the health of women, their children, and families. Hospitals and universities across the religious spectrum have an obligation to assure that individuals’ conscience and decisions are respected and that their students and employees have access to this basic health care service. We invite other religious leaders to speak out with us for universal coverage of contraception.”
Catholics for Choice, Jon O’Brien, President
Central Conference of American Rabbis, Rabbi Jonathan Stein, President
Concerned Clergy for Choice, Rabbi Dennis Ross, Director
Disciples Justice Action Network, Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston, Director
Episcopal Divinity School, The Very Reverend Dr. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, President
Episcopal Women’s Caucus, Rev. Dr Elizabeth Kaeton, Convener
Hadassah, Marcie Natan, National President
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Robert Barkin, Interim Executive Vice President
Jewish Women International, Lori Weinstein, Executive Director
Methodist Federation for Social Action, Jill Warren, Executive Director
Muslims for Progressive Values, Ani Zonniveld, President
National Council of Jewish Women, Nancy Kaufman, CEO
Planned Parenthood Clergy Advisory Board, Rev. Jane Emma Newall, Chair
Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, Executive Vice President
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Rev. Steve Clapp, Chair
Religious Institute, Rev. Dr. Debra W. Haffner, Executive Director
Society for Humanistic Judaism, M. Bonnie Cousens, Executive Director
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO
Union Theological Seminary, Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President
Unitarian Universalist Association, Rev. Peter Morales, President
United Church of Christ, Rev. Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President
Despite all his allies and public opinion, the WH will compromise. Obama “give me my 10%” (or was it 1%) is all about compromise, especially when it is wrong or useless. For some reason this Administration believes that standing for nothing is the safest way to remain in the WH.
Everyone is waiting for the compromise, but the polls, which they watch more closely than anything, are with them on this issue & in a very, very big way. But if they do blink, it won’t be the full lid closure, I don’t believe.
Thanks for giving much deserved but usually not received attention to some of those who have been on the front lines, for decades, working toward justice and equality, and countering the narrow interpretations of the “religious right.”
You bet, sister.
I’ve been told for decades that my faith is less, because it’s non-traditional; as an Episcopalian, my daily practice is long meditative sessions.
I’ve met and heard speak Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, with my church of choice quite a different beast from most. I’m proud they’ve signed on to the letter above.
With the exception of Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes, MSNBC has been infuriating me on this topic.
You know what I love? Some middle aged white dude telling me how problematic our lady-needs are for Catholics (98% of whom use contraception) and for the President’s re-election chances (as if there is any indication at this point that the general election will be that competitive, given the profoundly flawed group of Republican candidates and upward economic trends).
rose0red – Amen! What a great comment!
Chris Matthews has been, once again, an embarrassment in his views about women, which I’m going to write about later today (7 pm).
I saw Melissa Harris-Perry on Chris Hayes this weekend. Yep, she nailed it.
What if a religious-based employer says they are opposed to immunizations for children? Would they get a waiver on that, too?
Bingo, rr.
Remember the pharmacist’s who wouldn’t honor a prescription for the morning after pill because it interfered with their religious beliefs. If I owned that pharmacy I would have dragged that employee through the store and threw him out the door. On the way out I would have yelled, “ May god assist you in finding another job. “
Indeed fangio, indeed.
Turning to politics, coming out on contraceptive coverage was an unforced error on the administration’s part. After that beautiful jobs report last Friday, most of the wind had left the GOP’s sail on a failed presidency meme. As long as President Obama runs on an improving economy, the GOP will have the steepest mountain to climb in defeating him in November. If the election is fought about culture and morality, Obama stands a greater chance of losing. This is currently the right’s home field and Obama does not have the fight nor the interest to challenge the entire status quo True, these culture wars were going to appear at some point, but why introduce it yourself in February? Unless the POTUS is an extreme right-winger pretending to a moderate conservation, stirring up this pot, at this time, makes no sense. if his calculation was that it would intensify the civil war inside the GOP, his administration fail to take into account [his] collateral damage, meanwhile.
Sorry TPAZ but our comment is spoken by someone who no dog in the fight, I don’t think? If you were a twenty- forty something female you would.
You are absolutely right. This is purely an X’s and O’s analysis of politics. It has no bearing whatsoever on right or wrong. We also discuss on a daily basis drone attacks and invading and withdrawing troops out of Iraq of Afghanistan without acknowledging murdering innocent children or women of noncombatant men in the pursuit of US goals.
We’re still at least ten million jobs in the hole, just to get back to the employment levels at the not-so-lofty height of the George W. Bush Administration. I don’t think anyone in his right mind takes employment numbers as anything more than an indication of how things are going. What really will matter is whether the empty houses are sold, the empty storefronts and offices are rented, and people know that either they or people they know who are unemployed are back at work. We’re years away from those circumstances.
Most of the signs I’m seeing on the economy are mixed right now. That’s better than almost universally bad, which is what they were a year ago. Still, there are signs pointing in both directions, even assuming some other stupid thing doesn’t happen thanks to our leaders’ austerity fetish.
Meanwhile, Europe could trip over it shoelaces any day, and take us with them.
If the economy is getting visibly better at the end of summer, Obama can safely run on his record, I think. Before then, I wouldn’t want to be David Axelrod the day after Greece left the EU.
Until Greece defaults (and it will), my statement is true.
What I’m saying, in a nutshell, is that if people don’t see the economy improving, which means it needs to improve a fair amount between now and then, you’re not right. That’s true even if Greece doesn’t default. There is nothing I see really pushing us into a recovery, and there are lots of jobless people, lots of empty buildings, and lots of brain-dead stupid things that our own government can do between now and then.
I agree with you. Now listen to me; and I’m not being sarcastic, how will you know if this economy is really improving? From now until the election, the MSM propaganda machine is going to announce over and over things are getting better. Just like they hyped “Black Friday” after Thanksgiving; there were mobs outside waiting for stores to open, sales were crushing the previous year’s numbers. It was going to be the best Christmas ever for retailers. In January, the final tally showed sales were down for this holiday season from the previous year. Wall Street and the media will not show a faltering economy in 2012. It will be bad for their business agenda.
BTW, while BHO enraged his base with the contraception controversy, it knocked the 1% and income inequality off the front page. Also, the $26 Billion bank settlement, that the administration arm-twisted every state AG on, was accepted. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and the other banks got away once again under the Obama watch.
Mission Accomplished.
I elaborated on this subject here, but the short version is that I don’t think most folks pay much attention to what the squiggly lines on charts tell economists. They look at the economy they see around them, and that’s the economy that really matters. Most of us have an idea what’s going on in our own communities. We know how our friends and relatives are doing. We can see the demeanor of people we don’t know. Whether our impressions are right or wrong, I think most of us go by that at least as much as anything we see on TV.
Could be wrong, of course, but I know it’s one of the things that affects how I think about the economy, and I’m perfectly capable of deciphering charts and graphs, not to mention the statistics behind them.