SCHEIDLER: Religious freedom attacks threatens every American - Washington Times

SCHEIDLER: Religious freedom attacks threatens every American - Washington Times Despite 10 months of controversy — including a public clash between the White House and the U.S. Catholic bishops, countless rallies and protests across the country and the filing of dozens of federal lawsuits — many liberals and independents remain puzzled by the fight over the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. They don’t understand how conservatives can insist that the HHS mandate constitutes an unprecedented attack on religious freedom. The mandate, announced by the Obama administration in January and finalized in February, requires nearly all employers to provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, regardless of any moral objections. This includes religious employers such as Catholic hospitals and universities, despite the fact that paying for such “services” contradicts settled Catholic doctrine. Indeed, few Americans, whatever their political persuasion, understand or have much sympathy for the Catholic teaching that it is a sin to use contraception. In fact, it has come as news to many that the Catholic Church still teaches this. Sadly, few bother to ask why — or why it matters so much to the Catholic bishops that they insist they would rather shut down all those universities, charities and not-for-profit hospitals than comply with the HHS mandate. This is exactly the question all Americans should be asking right now. Even if you don’t quite understand what the big deal is, it ought to trouble you that the HHS mandate is such a big deal to so many — and not just to Catholics. Several Protestant institutions also have filed suit against the HHS mandate, including Wheaton College and Houston Baptist University. Read more: SCHEIDLER: Religious freedom attacks threatens every American - Washington Times http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/18/religious-freedom-should-be-a-top-issue-for-all-am/#ixzz29mBMkKem Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter