Obama, The Catholic Church and the Right to (Not) Bear Children

In case you haven’t noticed, religion is under siege in America today.  Or at least that’s what the religious right would have you believe. Groups like the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are outraged at the president for his attempt to mandate the availability of contraceptives through health care benefits, specifically for employees of religiously affiliated organizations. The president did offer a compromise to these groups, yet the compromise was largely superficial in that it merely required insurance providers to make the contraceptives available rather than the religious organizations themselves. The USCCB is staunchly opposed to the president’s compromise, and only time will tell if Obama’s alternative will be enough to satisfy his critics.

The mandated availability of contraception to religiously affiliated organizations does undermine the groups’ rights to religious freedom, or perhaps more accurately is merely an affront to their beliefs. However, the simple truth is that it is well within the reach of government to impose restrictions or regulations that protect basic human rights (in this case, reproductive rights), particularly considering it merely makes the option available and by no means requires the use of contraceptives. It is also worth noting that directly religious institutions such as mosques, churches, and synagogues are exempt from this mandate; the only point of contention is whether organizations affiliated with religious groups need provide birth control.

On some level this issue has been solved, however it raises a bigger question about the relations between religion and government in America today. Though this is by no means a complete connection, the American right has adhered to many doctrines of Christianity since the Reagan era. In recent decades, policies against abortion and gay marriage have been major talking points for the socially conservative.

Interestingly enough, the disapproval of contraceptive availability has never been nearly as significant a fighting point for the GOP as the aforementioned religious issues. Though some like Rick Santorum, poster boy of “traditional” religious values, have consistently been vocal about their disapproval of contraceptive use, it took attention from major media before most Republicans became so incensed at this alleged infringement of rights. In fact, prior to the new wave of extreme partisan politics, many opponents of Obama’s contraceptive mandate have supported similar legislation. According to the Seattle Times, major Republican players like Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney have waffled from backing similar mandates to calling Obama’s action “a direct violation of the First Amendment” and an “assault on religion”, respectively.

This is yet another example of Obama being pinned as the leftist radical that he is, in nearly every sense, not. Despite partisan attacks arguing the contrary, the man has practically been a champion of religious involvement in American politics. He has routinely supported the previous administration’s unprecedented monetary concessions to religiously affiliated charitable organizations. Even the USCCB, the very group that has been so fervently attacking Obama’s proposed mandate, has seen not only continued federal funding since the Bush era but an increase of nearly ten million dollars between the last three years of Bush’s presidency and the first three of Obama’s.

Keep in mind this is not meant to be a criticism of the Republican Party as a whole: they represent a significant part of the population and their policies are widely supported. What I do seek to criticize is just how far Republican politicians are willing to go to tarnish Obama’s reputation. There is a place for calling out opponents in politics, but the level of mudslinging in today’s political arena only serves to distance constituents from the representatives that swear to legislate on their behalf. To do so in the name of religion only further alienates the Republican voter base; though the intent is clearly to gain support from fringe fundamental groups, Republicans have left out a great majority of their supporters. When so many flip-flop on an issue such as contraceptives, it’s clear that the Republican Party is desperately grasping at straws to connect with an increasingly dwindling fundamental religious base. •