Saturday, March 17, 2012

Contraception Controversy

Any paper you pick up or TV show you turn on will talk about the “contraception controversy.”

That’s how the media and the “reproductive rights” crowd have framed the Obama Administration’s outrageous demand that religious organizations violate the tenets of their faith by offering insurance to their employees that covers abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization.

But all you ever hear from newsmen or politicians is that this is all about contraception. And sadly, according to the polls anyway, they’ve been successful in shaping the argument.

Friends, this controversy is NOT about contraception. It is about the ability of the government to limit the free exercise of our religion. This is a religious liberty question.

I’ve gone out of my way in conversations with people to straighten them out on this, and it immediately changes their point of view. What’s really at stake here is whether the executive branch of the government can enforce administrative orders that violate the Constitution and trample upon the Bill of Rights.

If Christians are to do anything in the public square today, it is to raise the rallying cry of freedom. Remember freedom is the created condition of humans made in the image of God, who Himself is free. This is being taken away from us right under our noses.

You are one of the 525,000 people who have signed the Manhattan Declaration. If you and every single signer would explain this issue in simple terms to your neighbors, we would turn the polls around. This is a winning issue for us, but only if we do not allow the other side to frame the debate.

The case is simple; it is not about contraception. It is about religious liberty, the first of all our freedoms.

Chuck Colson

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Fr. It is wonderful that some are suing to protect church groups but what about faithful catholics who will be individually required by their secular jobs insurance coverage to pay for these things. If there a class action lawsuit group suing on behalf of us? If there is I would gladly sign on and contribute because I will be forced to opt out of coverage at work and pay huge fines in order to avoid funding this evil. If the 525000 signers of the Manhattan Declaration (I am one of them) spent $100, together we would have a legal fund of 52,500,000 to fight this evil.