A reader puzzles about the HHS Mandate

He writes:

Maybe this is just a particularly loathsome example of liberal Christian nonsense, but this article, by a Quaker, is making the rounds on FB. Read it if you have time — if not, I know you’re busy.

I’m wondering if you know any good articles, or have written any, that addresses the following points:

a) how this differs from taxes being used to fund stuff like abortion, unjust war, etc.

It doesn’t, as far as I can see. Both are a use of public monies to do grave moral evil. The Church does not teach that as long as the government is doing it, it’s morally okay to use our taxes to do grave evil. Rather, what the Church says is that, even when the state is run by Nero Caesar, it is, on balance, better to have a state than to have anarchy. But the Church also affirms that a people have the right to resist a tyrannical misuse of power. How that resistance plays out can happen in various ways ranging from peaceful protest to armed revolt depending on the circumstances. The Church, naturally, prefers peaceful methods and has demonstrated, in the downfall of Soviet communism, just how effective those methods can be—a lesson completely lost on the bloodthirsty kill crazies of the Thing that Used to be Conservatism who pushed us into our misbegotten war in Iraq.

b) why Hobby Lobby winning in this case would not “open the door” for JW business owners not paying for blood transfusions, etc. (Some idiot said if conscience protection were allowed, then Randians could use it to avoid all regulations, *gasp*)

Here’s my scribbles.

Bottom line: Contraception is not a“right” and I am not bound to pay for what you want to do in your bedroom. Life is a right and the state has interest in preserving innocent human life from being taken by neglect.

c) are there ANY liberals/lefists out there who see this as a very illiberal usurpation of power and an attempt at bullying Christians? Or, who are able to parse the obvious distinction that “preventative medicine” is preventative no matter what, where as birth control is contingent upon behavior (regardless of how one feels about said behavior)?

Michael Sean Winters over at the National Catholic Reporter has been critical of the HHS Mandate. , but I haven’t followed him on it closely. Beyond that, I couldn’t say.