Exemptions On Moral, As Well As Religious Grounds

Religious organizations can get an exemption from Obamacare’s birth control mandate. But opposition to contraception and embracing a pro-life philosophy are matters of moral conviction, not just religious conviction. What about an organization whose stance is based on moral reasoning, rather than religious doctrine?

March for Life is a secular organization, so a judge had ruled that it cannot be exempt from the Obamacare mandate. But a federal judge threw out that decision, saying that moral objections can carry the same weight as religious convictions.

People are always confusing religion and morality, as if they were the same thing, or as if moral decisions are always religious decisions, and vice versa. They are related, to be sure, but in the case of Christianity, which affirms both realms, the religious part is not so much about being moral as with finding forgiveness for NOT being moral.

From Timothy C. Morgan, March for Life Exempt From Birth Control Mandate | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com:

At least one secular nonprofit has been allowed to opt-out of the Obamacare birth control mandate.

A federal judge on August 31 ruled that the March for Life, a secular organization that stages the annual January Roe v. Wade protest in Washington, is exempt from offering artificial contraception as required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare.

Federal officials argued that the March for Life did not qualify for an accommodation to the law because it is secular.

Judge Richard J. Leon disagreed.

In his ruling (March for Life v. Burwell), Leon said that it is legally permissible to object to artificial contraception on moral, not just religious grounds.

“March for Life has been excised from the fold because it is not ‘religious.’ This is nothing short of regulatory favoritism,” Judge Leon wrote. “What HHS claims to be protecting is religious beliefs, when it actually is protecting a moral philosophy about the sanctity of human life.”

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