Wednesday, February 22, 2012

On Back to Blogging/Contraception Debate

Hello world. I'm back. Sorry about the massive deletes and abrupt end to the blog with no explanation. Anyway, the reason for it no longer exists, so I'm VERY happy to be back with you now.

Today, let's talk about the contraception debate. I know that issue is almost gone in society, but I still would like to stir the pot a bit. I was home in PA for about a week and a half earlier this month and I read a letter to the editor in our local paper that made my blood boil regarding the contraception issue. Specifically, the writer was ranting against the Catholic church and all of its "allied fundamentalists," who, according to this concerned citizen were content on creating a "theocratic hegemony" in the United States.

What?

A theocratic hegemeony-yep that's what he said. Now, please keep in mind that I am a graduate student, and I will graduate this May with a Masters Degree in Public Communication, and I had to look up the word hegemony. I even inserted a link to the dictionary.com page for you all to learn about the word itself. It means to be a predominant leader or to impose, through leadership, your opinions on those you view to be beneath you. This author even went  so far as to say that Catholics in America were trying to make their religion more dominant over other religions such as: Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, etc. 

Really? That's very interesting. Especially considering that let's see-abortion is legal, schools are not promoting abstinence, prayer (especially christian prayer) is not allowed in schools, creationism isn't taught, and most schools don't even give the students Easter Monday off any more. That's right, Easter Monday, the day Jesus appeared to his disciples in the Upper Room. But yes, according to the author of the letter to the editor, the Catholics were all about imposing their religious beliefs upon everyone else. 

The author then went on to speak about the rights of women and how they deserve to be offered these services and that the Catholic church must honor womens' rights. He basically lambasted the Catholic church and all of its followers-condemning them for standing up to what the author called their "putative respect for life". 

Well ladies and gentlemen, I couldn't take it. I could NOT be silent and let this man rant about the persecution of women. It's time for someone to take a stand, so I did. I wrote back to the paper, and they published my letter to the editor. In the center of the editorial section, above the fold. Must've done something right. 

The gist of my argument? This issue is not about women's rights. It's not about institutions denying women access to contraceptives or to payments for contraceptives. This is about religious freedom. Our founding fathers wanted to ensure that no government could infringe upon any citizen's religion. So they created the First Amendment which protects religion, speech, assembly and petition. The link provided shows that the First Amendment clearly protects the practice of religion. 

Catholics believe in respecting life and understand the fundamental principle that when one engages in lovemaking, one assumes the responsibilities and consequences. Catholics are not trying to usurp the authority of other religions, nor to force women to have babies. They are standing up for what they believe. Good for them. 

Since when did it become so wrong for people to have different beliefs in America? It is those beliefs that make this country great. If the First Amendment truly protects the rights of people to practice their religion freely, then the section of the health-care law requiring Catholic institutions to pay for contraception had to be stricken. President Obama has backed away from this requirement, but I'm not sure the revision is proper either. 

The bottom line is-no government should ever attempt to usurp the authority or freedoms of its people. People are entitled to their own beliefs. If women want to use contraceptives, then by all means they may go to any clinic, school, or institution that provides them, but they won't find them at a Catholic institution. Just the same, the author of the letter to the editor is entitled to his beliefs, but what he must learn is to respect the other side. 

Take it or leave it, that's ChadlyMc's take on the Contraception debate.