# Religion and Health Care Insurance. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 7, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067 "2012-02-07T13:19:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/1 "2012-02-07T13:19:34Z")
Let’s try to play nice, as I am trying to understand this. The new American health care program requires employers to provide health care insurance for their employees. Do avoid our national bugaboo, the law does not require abortions to be covered. It does require other coverages, mental health, long-term stuff and contraceptives. Now again, we are not talking about abortions here. Catholics [have hit the roof](http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/02/06/catholic-league-poised-to-go-to-war-with-obama-over-mandatory-birth-control-payments/). OK, I understand the Church is opposed to contraception. That is their right. But lots of churches are opposed to lots of things, Scientologists are opposed to mental health care. Snake handlers are opposed to Lord-knows-what. You will always have some employer somewhere who is opposed to dentistry or something. But the law is designed to ensure all (well most) Americans have some certain baseline of medical insurance. Lots of people work for the Church (or some other church) as printers, janitors, drivers, whatever. Is it unreasonable to expect every bus driver in America to have contraception coverage? Where is the line? At some point, churches are just employers like any other. How do other countries handle this? As I said, the whole thing sort of puzzles me. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/2 "2012-02-07T13:22:58Z")
The law does not require churches to offer insurance covering birth control. It requires church-owned properties (like colleges and hospitals) to offer insurance covering birth control. There is a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/3 "2012-02-07T13:29:21Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Snake handlers are opposed to Lord-knows-what. Gauntlets, I assume. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/4 "2012-02-07T13:45:58Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Snake handlers are opposed to Lord-knows-what. Antivenom? It seems likely that many would look at it as representing a lack of faith. Not that I really know much about them. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/5 "2012-02-07T13:57:01Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Antivenom? Mongooses? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/6 "2012-02-07T14:15:36Z")
[Currently active, 4-page thread on this exact subject.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=640689) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/7 "2012-02-07T14:17:17Z")
I’m sensitive the religious liberty issues, but there are a couple of points about the ruling that make me okay with it. 1. As **Fear Itself** points out, it does not apply to churches. It does apply to religious-affiliated organizations, which often (if not usually) include employees who do not belong to that particular religious tradition. 2. The law does not force places like Catholic hospitals to provide contraception services. 3. The Church is upset because they are paying for coverage for their employees that may now be used for contraception; but I don’t see a difference between that and paying employees a salary which could then be used for the same purpose. Ultimately it is the employee’s responsibility to conform to Church teaching if that’s what they believe. 4. The Church doesn’t see it this way, but more contraception results in fewer abortions. That’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/8 "2012-02-07T14:59:04Z")
I’m closing this [with a link to the previous thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=640689) ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/9 "2012-02-07T15:19:45Z")
Thank you sorry for not noticing the other thread ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-and-health-care-insurance/612067/10 "2012-02-08T03:22:22Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > At some point, churches are just employers like any other. How do other countries handle this? Other countries, like the UK and Canada, provide universal health care as a government service, rather than relying on employers to provide it.