At the end of May, many Roman Catholic Dioceses, Rockville Centre included, filed a lawsuit against the government. Some institutions, such as Planned Parenthood, would like the public to believe that this was an attempt by the church to prevent women access to preventative health services.
Their main issue focuses on access to birth control. It is not clear how birth control is preventative health care; it prevents pregnancy, which is not an illness. Birth control is readily available to any woman, regardless of their religious affiliation, and the lawsuit will not change that. What the administration has done is mandate that religious institutions violate their moral teachings by paying for it. This a violation of the separation of church and state and it’s being imposed by the government.
The proposed exemption, or compromise, is so limited it does nothing to address the larger issue and cannot be implemented in most religious institutions. What the church is doing is using the system that is set up by the government to protect the violation of our constitution’s rights. The Catholic Church, along with other religious institutions, will remain steadfast in their effort to protect the rights granted us through the U.S. Constitution so that one never has to choose between being part of a religious organization and being an American.
Noreen O’Donnell Crayne
Hicksville resident
