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Health & Fitness

The Religious Have Rights -- But So Do We

Religious groups should not have to be forced to go against their beliefs -- if only they would respect ours.

Last week a political, moral and theological powder keg was close to going kaplooey:  Religious groups recoiled at a part of the Obama  administration's healthcare plan that would require their business organizations to provide for birth control to women that were employed by them.

Before thing got truly ugly however, the President offered up a compromise that appeared to make everyone relatively satisfied: Insurance companies would be required to provide the contraceptive coverage directly, taking the religious groups somewhat out of the equation.

I will admit that at first I bristled at the reaction by the religious groups, especially given the fact that doctors will sometimes prescribe 'the pill' to women for reasons other than contraception -- irregular or absent menstrual periods, menstrual cramps, acne, PMS, endometriosis, or for those who suffer from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.  Bottom line, my kneejerk reaction was that what happens once the teacher leaves the parochial school or the rabbi's secretary leaves the office for the day should be their business, not their employers.  Certainly what goes on in my life once I've punched out for the day should not be any concern of my direct supervisors.

Ultimately, however, I realized that religious groups are an entirely different creature than  private corporations and had every right to take this stand.  Like the other prickly issue of gay marriage, it's not fair to force religious groups to adopt a position that goes completely contrary to their beliefs.  We can't force priests to marry homosexual couples (not that I know a single gay couple who would want to be married by one), and we can't force the Church to give up their position on birth control, even if many of us find it outdated and archaic.

But here's the thing -- the door should swing both ways, shouldn't it?

When it comes to gay rights, I understand that many religions adhere to the idea that it's a sin -- but really that's a religious/philosophical issue, and one that should have no impact on the rest of us who do not feel this way.  Yet every day people who claim they are acting on behalf of God try to influence the political landscape, denying gays, lesbians and transgenders the right to marry, the right to walk down the street without fear of being attacked and, in some cases, the right to actually live.

The same applies to abortion.  Personally, I don't believe in abortion as a form of birth control; that just smacks of laziness and a lack of personal responsibility.  That being said, I don't have a single right in the world to tell a woman what she can and can't do with her body.  And I certainly would never tell a woman who was impregnated by rape or one whose life has become endangered due to pregnancy complications that it's "God's Will" she see the pregnancy through to the end.  But tune into Fox News on any given day and you'll hear people like Rick Santorum, Karen Handel and a myriad of others use their religious beliefs to attempt to coerce lawmakers to deny women the right to choose.

So yes, I fully support the religious groups right to stand by their beliefs, even if I don't agree with them.  I just wish they would extend the courtesy back.

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