Religious freedom is the lifeblood of the American people,
the cornerstone of American government. When the Founding Fathers determined
that the innate rights of men and women should be enshrined in our
Constitution, they so esteemed religious liberty that they made it the first
freedom in the Bill of Rights. In particular, the Founding Fathers fiercely
defended the right of conscience. George Washington himself declared: "The
conscientious scruples of all men should be treated with great delicacy and
tenderness; and it is my wish and desire, that the laws may always be
extensively accommodated to them." James Madison, a key defender of
religious freedom and author of the First Amendment, said: "Conscience is
the most sacred of all property."
Scarcely two weeks ago, in its
Hosanna-Tabor decision upholding the right of churches to make ministerial
hiring decisions, the Supreme Court unanimously and enthusiastically reaffirmed
these longstanding and foundational principles of religious freedom. The court
made clear that they include the right of religious institutions to control
their internal affairs. Yet the Obama administration has veered in the opposite
direction. It has refused to exempt religious institutions that serve the
common good—including Catholic schools, charities and hospitals—from its
sweeping new health-care mandate that requires employers to purchase
contraception, including abortion-producing drugs, and sterilization coverage
for their employees. Last August, when the administration first proposed this
nationwide mandate for contraception and sterilization coverage, it also
proposed a "religious employer" exemption. But this was so narrow
that it would apply only to religious organizations engaged primarily in
serving people of the same religion. As Catholic Charities USA's president, the
Rev. Larry Snyder, notes, even Jesus and His disciples would not qualify for
the exemption in that case, because they were committed to serve those of other
faiths. Since then, hundreds of religious institutions, and hundreds of
thousands of individual citizens, have raised their voices in principled
opposition to this requirement that religious institutions and individuals
violate their own basic moral teaching in their health plans. Certainly many of
these good people and groups were Catholic, but many were Americans of other
faiths, or no faith at all, who recognize that their beliefs could be next on
the block. They also recognize that the cleverest way for the government to
erode the broader principle of religious freedom is to target unpopular beliefs
first. Now we have learned that those loud and strong appeals were ignored.
On
Friday, the administration reaffirmed the mandate, and offered only a one-year
delay in enforcement in some cases—as if we might suddenly be more willing to
violate our consciences 12 months from now. As a result, all but a few
employers will be forced to purchase coverage for contraception, abortion drugs
and sterilization services even when they seriously object to them. All who share
the cost of health plans that include such services will be forced to pay for
them as well. Surely it violates freedom of religion to force religious
ministries and citizens to buy health coverage to which they object as a matter
of conscience and religious principle. The rule forces insurance companies to
provide these services without a co-pay, suggesting they are
"free"—but it is naïve to believe that. There is no free lunch, and
you can be sure there's no free abortion, sterilization or contraception. There
will be a source of funding: you. Coercing religious ministries and citizens to
pay directly for actions that violate their teaching is an unprecedented
incursion into freedom of conscience. Organizations fear that this unjust rule
will force them to take one horn or the other of an unacceptable dilemma: Stop
serving people of all faiths in their ministries—so that they will fall under
the narrow exemption—or stop providing health-care coverage to their own
employees. The Catholic Church defends religious liberty, including freedom of
conscience, for everyone. The Amish do not carry health insurance. The
government respects their principles. Christian Scientists want to heal by
prayer alone, and the new health-care reform law respects that. Quakers and
others object to killing even in wartime, and the government respects that
principle for conscientious objectors. By its decision, the Obama
administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of
Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease. This latest
erosion of our first freedom should make all Americans pause. When the
government tampers with a freedom so fundamental to the life of our nation, one
shudders to think what lies ahead ■ His Excellency, the most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan, tenth
Archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops.
