# Is the Contraception mandate a violation of religious freedom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 2, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-contraception-mandate-a-violation-of-religious-freedom/611570 "2012-02-02T20:12:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-contraception-mandate-a-violation-of-religious-freedom/611570/281 "2012-04-27T15:28:35Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > You’ve got the situation backwards. Neither the RCC nor anyone else is trying to “mandate certain conditions that must be followed by the federal government”. The federal government is trying to mandate certain conditions that the RCC and every other religious body must follow. That’s not accurate either. The feds are trying to mandate conditions that organizations _affiliated_ with the RCC must follow. The RCC itself (and other churches) are not subject to the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-contraception-mandate-a-violation-of-religious-freedom/611570/282 "2012-04-27T15:50:36Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Safe working conditions and a benefits package really aren’t comparable. Why not? His objection was to federal regulations that come between workers and employers. Seems a bit capricious to focus on benefits exclusively. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-contraception-mandate-a-violation-of-religious-freedom/611570/283 "2012-04-27T15:53:47Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > You’ve got the situation backwards. Neither the RCC nor anyone else is trying to “mandate certain conditions that must be followed by the federal government”. The federal government is trying to mandate certain conditions that the RCC and every other religious body must follow. Its not backwards, you simply refuse to look at things objectively. The RCC is making a demand of government exemption just as they claim the government is doing to them. For there to be a government mandate, there must exist an opposition. From my perspective, it is the RCC who are demanding, since they claim special rights that shouldn’t exist, whereas the government wants all religious organizations to be equally obligated to pay for contraception. Only one side is demanding special treatment here and its not the one you think ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-contraception-mandate-a-violation-of-religious-freedom/611570/284 "2012-04-27T15:56:11Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Why not? His objection was to federal regulations that come between workers and employers. Seems a bit capricious to focus on benefits exclusively. Because equating all federal regulations as the same is simply a strawman. We’re talking about a benefits package, not working conditions. Or taxes. Or clean air. Or any other federal requirement that you can come up with. ---
**Author:** ![Deegeea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Deegeea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deegeea)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-contraception-mandate-a-violation-of-religious-freedom/611570/285 "2012-04-27T19:01:36Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > I really don’t see why it’s always so difficult to understand the difference between government action that everyone in the country is forced to obey and private agreements that no one in the country is forced to obey. Everyone who teaches at a Catholic school has chosen to do so. Anyone who doesn’t like the terms of his or her employment is welcome to not take the job. On the other hand, Catholics (or anyone else) who own insurance companies are not welcome to simply not take whatever rules are laid down by government bureaucrats. It’s difficult to see the difference because an individual’s refusing an entire job because they don’t like the coverage in the insurance seems comparable to most people, to a company’s refusing to enter a market because they don’t like the regulations involved. If the regulations in a market have terms a company or its management find objectionable, they are free to sell their goods in other markets. For example, the Catholic insurance company owner could market Medicare supplemental insurance which presumably, being marketed exclusively to the elderly, would not need to worry about birth control implications at all. Or they could market homeowners insurance. This seems comparable to the teacher having to take a job at a public school or Unitarian school instead of the Catholic one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-contraception-mandate-a-violation-of-religious-freedom/611570.md?page=14)