US Elections

When values conflict

By Luke Freedman in Sydney, Australia

3 February 2012

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On January 20, the White House announced that nearly all employer-provided health insurance plans must entirely cover the cost of contraceptives for women. The administration determined that only religious institutions that primarily served members of their own faith would be exempt from the law. In other words, a church would receive an exemption but a Catholic hospital would not. The requirement was widely hailed by liberals, but I have reservations about the way the Obama administration handled the decision.

(Photo: spentpenny)

Don’t get me wrong, access to birth control is an essential aspect of female autonomy. But, the administration was too quickly dismissive of another liberal value, religious freedom. The Catholic Church is officially opposed to the use of contraceptives and requiring Catholic hospitals or universities to cover the cost of birth control for their employers is to ask them to violate their teachings.

One could argue that it’s only fair that religious groups be treated like anyone else when they employ and serve Americans of all different faiths and backgrounds. However, one of the virtues of American liberalism is its willingness to try and accommodate the diverse religious beliefs and values of its citizenry. Religious liberty means not just protecting rights in the private sphere, but trying to find flexible solutions for respecting freedom of conscience in public life as well. The Church has long been a firm proponent of social justice, and Catholic hospitals and charities are now in effect being told that upholding this tenet of their religion means violating another. I’m uncomfortable asking them to make a choice between these two values.

What would have been a better way of handling this issue? In his Washington Post column, E.J. Dionne advocates a proposal that would require religious groups to inform employees if they were not covering birth control and describe “alternative ways for enrollees to access” low cost contraceptives. Under the circumstances, I think this would have been a better solution. but there’s no denying the unfortunate and frustrating truth that it would have made it more difficult for many women to access reproductive health services.

I firmly hope that the Catholic Church changes its stance on birth control in the near future, and I remain cautiously optimistic that they will, given that the vast majority of Catholics use contraceptives. However, until they do, I’m not sure the coercive response of the Obama administration is the best course of action. It’s never easy resolving these cases in which such fundamental principles come into conflict with one another, but there are times when liberalism must be tolerant of practises that are somewhat illiberal in themselves. I believe this is one of those times.

Tags: Barack Obama, Birth Control, Catholic Church, Catholicism, Health Care, Liberalism, Obama Administration

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