Monday the California Supreme Court ruled that Private Religious Charities with employees must offer Birth Control along with their medical prescription benefits, even though doing so violates religious principle.
Comments on Free Exercise?
California Supreme Court and Religious Freedom
by Yerusalyim 40 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Satans little helper
It would be the same as making sure that the JW's medical insurance covered for blood transfusions.
Whether or not you support the action (blood transfusions or birth control) I think people should have equal rights to it - eg if I was working at Bethel and had an accident and got taken to hospital I may decide to live rather than die and have a blood transfusion, whereas if the insurance didn't cover it the decision would be made for me by the society. Same with birth control, most Catholics do use birth control and exercise their right to choose.
So I think it is ensuring freedom rather than restricting it - ensuring the freedom of the individual to choose whether or not to follow their organisations rules to the letter or not.
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Phantom Stranger
This seems to have nothing to do with a church or with religion at all. Apparently a non-profit company doing business in California has to offer health benefits without withholding the benefits that the officers of the company don't sanction due to their religious beliefs.
Is everybody clear that the Catholic Church was not involved in this ruling? A non-profit corporation operating in California was judged to have to play by the same rules as all the other corporations.
My new bumper sticker: Tax Religion.
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logansrun
What are your personal thoughts on birth-control as a Catholic, Yeru?
B.
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Elsewhere
If they want to use tax dollars... then they will have to abide by the regulations that are in place. If they don't like the regulations, all they have to do is stop accepting public money.
Its funny... christians want to have all sorts of government protections and rights... but they don't want to extend the same to other people.
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Yerusalyim
My feelings on birth control, a little less stringent than the official church. It depends more on the reason than the method. I really see very little difference between the Rythm Method and Artificial BC as long as it isn't an abortificant. What is important is the REASON behind the BC, not the method.
Elsewhere,
Where do you think Society would be if Catholic Charities stopped helping people, or the Salvation Army, etc. Catholic Charities is in the business of raising private money for charitable causes. So they should be forced to offer their 83 full time employees birth control even though this contravenes the Catholic Religion?
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Badger
Figures...while Bush and his ilk are trying to genetically combine church and state one way, Cali is trying to do it another way...
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logansrun
Yeru,
I appreciate your response, and respect your position.
B.
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Phantom Stranger
From the AP story at: http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/01/church.contraceptives.ap/
California is one of 20 states to require that all company-provided health plans must include contraception coverage if the plans have prescription drug benefits.
The high court said that Catholic Charities is no different from other businesses in California, where "religious employers" such as churches are exempt from the requirement. Catholic Charities argued that it, too, should be exempt.
But the Supreme Court ruled that the charity is not a religious employer because it offers such secular services as counseling, low-income housing and immigration services to people of all faiths, without directly preaching Catholic values.
In fact, Justice Kathryn Werdegar wrote that a "significant majority" of the people served by the charity are not Catholic. The court also noted that the charity employs workers of differing religions.
Catholic Charities has 183 full-time employees and had a $76 million budget in California in 2002. It does not demand that its workers be Catholic or share the church's philosophy.
I guess you said it best, Yeru: "Catholic Charities is in the business of raising private money for charitable causes." It's the price of doing business.
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Yerusalyim
Phantom,
What a horrible world it would be if the Catholic Charities and other such groups stopped doing "business" because of this. How many millions would be hurt?
The ruling is ridiculous, it infringes on the free exercise right and is an undo invovlement of the state in a religious matter. Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion...OR PROHIBITING the free exercise there of.....In other words when it comes to religion and religious issues, the state should have a hands off policy.