Obama Administration Overreaching, Says Constitutional Law Expert

By Stefano Gennarini, J.D. | February 17, 2012

Great USA Today article by a Notre Dame Law School professor on how the Obama Administration is overreaching through its birth control mandate.

Must read:

The burdens on religious freedom and diversity imposed by the mandate have been obscured by several widespread mistakes and misconceptions. First, it is said by some that those who resist the mandate — the Catholic bishops make particularly appealing villains in this account — are trying to “impose their morality” on employees, or to “deny access” to items and services to which most people — indeed, many Catholics — have no objection. This charge is false. Religious institutions are not trying to control what their employees buy, use, or do in private; they are trying to avoid being conscripted by the government into paying for what they teach are immoral acts. It is the administration, and not the Catholic Church, that is imposing its values on the vulnerable and unpopular.
Next, some insist that the mandate, like the host of other regulations to which religious institutions are subject, is just part of the price these institutions must pay for participating in public life and engaging in “secular” activities. When you enter the state’s arena, they say, you have to play by the state’s rules. But since when are educating the young, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, and comforting the lonely “secular” activities? Rather than acting as though the government is doing religious institutions a favor by allowing them to care for others and transform the world, we should acknowledge that religious institutions were ministering to the needy well before the government got into the act, and that religiously inspired love-of-neighbor long pre-dates the welfare state. Indeed, instead of imposing a heavy-handed, conscience-burdening mandate on religious schools, hospitals, and agencies, perhaps the nation should consider a thank-you card and a reimbursement check.

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