Santorum is a lunatic, Part 10,568

[TJ in Oregon]

98% of self-identified Catholic women between the ages of 18-44 who have had sex in the last three months used an artifical method of contraception. So naturally the Obama administration must mandate Catholic hospitals to pay for birth control and Plan B. Because Catholic hospitals employee non-Catholic staff and treat non-Catholic patients. We can't have that Those institutions must not be religious. Jesus would not have qualified for a religious exemption. The president gets to run the entire country, including the religious institutions within it. Who's going to stop him from rewriting Catholic teachings? After all, the Bishops are clearly the 1% in this case.

[TJ in Oregon]

Issues like this just prove that you right-winger fucks don't actually care about unemployment or people struggling to pay the bills or anything like that. Rather than save literally tens of millions of American women thousands of dollars on what can be prohibitively expensive medicine, you decide it's more important that employers be allowed to tell women what they can and cannot do with their own bodies based on the employer's religious beliefs!

Upwards of 90% of sexually-active, fertile women who do not want to become pregnant are practicing contraception. If Republicans keep pushing the views of a couple of right-wing bishops and conservatives stuck in the 1950s, they are going to get destroyed in November. You can't just demonize and attack every single group in this country that is not white Christian men and expect to win elections.

See, I thought anybody could buy condoms at the local 7/11. Dirt cheap, too. No prescription. And even more effective than the pill. And condoms actually prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, unlike the pill. In the 21st century, condoms are really the only rational choice for anybody who chooses sex outside of a committed relationship, if not marriage.

Keep thinking you are re-igniting the "culture war" with this. This is no such thing. This is about you trying to shove more and more Big Government down everybody's throat. Enough is enough. The government does not have the right to tell religious institutions what to do. People are saying enough is enough because they know it will not stop unless a line is drawn in the sand. I know this offends your communist sensibilities, but deal with it.

But the Catholic Church is the enemy! It must be destroyed at all costs because religion is an outdated means to control the populace! No justice, No peace!

[TJ in Oregon]

It's not just hospital workers. It applies to everyone without exception.

Actually there is an exception for religious institutions but to qualify they must employ exclusively members of their religion and serve exclusively members of their religion (or very close). So the Catholic Church could get around this by firing all non-Catholic employees and releasing all non-Catholic patients. Of course, Jesus would not have qualified for such an exemption because he cured non-Jews.

[TJ in Oregon]

Issues like this just prove that you right-winger fucks don't actually care about unemployment or people struggling to pay the bills or anything like that. Rather than save literally tens of millions of American women thousands of dollars on what can be prohibitively expensive medicine, you decide it's more important that employers be allowed to tell women what they can and cannot do with their own bodies based on the employer's religious beliefs!

Upwards of 90% of sexually-active, fertile women who do not want to become pregnant are practicing contraception. If Republicans keep pushing the views of a couple of right-wing bishops and conservatives stuck in the 1950s, they are going to get destroyed in November. You can't just demonize and attack every single group in this country that is not white Christian men and expect to win elections.

See, I thought anybody could buy condoms at the local 7/11. Dirt cheap, too. No prescription. And even more effective than the pill. And condoms actually prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, unlike the pill. In the 21st century, condoms are really the only rational choice for anybody who chooses sex outside of a committed relationship, if not marriage.

Keep thinking you are re-igniting the "culture war" with this. This is no such thing. This is about you trying to shove more and more Big Government down everybody's throat. Enough is enough. The government does not have the right to tell religious institutions what to do. People are saying enough is enough because they know it will not stop unless a line is drawn in the sand. I know this offends your communist sensibilities, but deal with it.

But the Catholic Church is the enemy! It must be destroyed at all costs because religion is an outdated means to control the populace! No justice, No peace!

No-one's saying anything remotely like this.

e: Just read Politico's latest terrible, terrible post. As I said a while back, you should be put in hack prison and given the death penalty.

I'm sure I deserve no less!
Okay, maybe I'll use a little hyperbole for once tonight.

My issue here is that the Obama administration does not believe Catholics should be allowed to have a hospital without using contraceptives. He believes that there is an inaliable God-given right to the having birth control for free. And the Catholic Church is oppressing people by not giving it to them. I have a problem with that. It's not okay. It's the type of event that is making me re-think my ideas about the role of government to the point where I'm starting to view the government as fundamentally antagonistic rather than just sort of there. This is the type of issue where the government is telling me I am so "backwards" that I am not allowed to have the opinions I have. It's just not allowed.

[TJ in Oregon]

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So what you are saying is that devout Catholics have no place in American society? If you want to throw out the constitution -  be my guest. But don't be surprised when the United States don't follow along with you.

You want a society where everyone pays for contraception, and for health care - it's called Canada. I hear they are taking applications...

Where did I say that?  All I said is that the law of the land is above religious law.  You are free to practice any religion you want and to disregard contraception... but then society decides that contraceptives are to be covered in employee health plans, and you say we have no right to do so because of your religion.  So...our laws have to meet your religious tests?  

If you feel that you are paying for contraception and that is a sin, and that is more important to you than living in this society... leave!  The adults have sh*t to get done.  

Seriously here.  If a fundamentalist Christian wants to stone his neighbor to death for working in his yard on Sunday... what the hell should we do?  Grant him a reprieve?  Sorry guys but those are his beliefs? 

The hospital is NOT A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION.  The Catholic Church wants to run an institution that is not technically a church than IT HAS TO ABIDE BY THE LAWS OF THE LAND.  I hate having to go all caps on anything, but this issue is so cut and dry it's incredible that it even needs debate.  Every preceding poster than likens this to an argument out of the 1950s is spot on.   

Of course the Church has to follow the law of the land, but the administration WROTE THE F***ING LAW on purpose to screw over the Church. Of course Catholics ought to be pissed. Is there any doubt about what the administration's intent was in writing the rules for religious exemptions so that they didn't cover Catholic hospitals? How many other institutions are there that oppose contraceptives and employ a lot of people? Sure it all may very well be legal, but geez...