Obama's birth control order oppressive

The Obama administration has directly attacked a core belief of the Catholic Church: the stance against the use of contraceptives.

In order to ensure equal health care distribution to all, the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Jan. 20 that it is mandating coverage of contraceptives for all, including Catholic and other religious employers. Many Church leaders are aghast at the order, seeing it as an attack on their First Amendment right to freely practice religion. The Obama Administration is overstepping its bounds in declaring war on a sacred belief of the Church and humanity itself.

The Church has officially been against the use of contraceptives since 1968 when Pope Paul VI released the encyclical "On the Regulation of Birth." In this encyclical, the Church outlines its stance against any type of contraception. It says the use of contraceptives results in the lowering of moral standards by turning sex into a meaningless act and by potentially making men reduce the role of women to an instrument for male sexual desires. The encyclical, although controversial, has withstood the test of time and continues to be the foundation of the Church's stance on the use of contraceptives. Now, that doctrine is under attack.

After issuing the order, Sebelius went on to say, "I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services. I feel that the declaration undermines the separation of Church and state and does not respect religious freedoms."

The Church has refused to bend to the whims of the Obama Administration. Archbishop Timothy Dolan, to whom Obama delivered the news earlier last week, lashed out at the decision.

"In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences," he said.

This issue is yet another example of the Obama Administration overstepping its bounds. The order is a blatant violation of the First Amendment, and it putting Catholics between a rock and a hard place. The battle has just begun as the order will certainly be sent to the courts where the war will be decided.

For the sanctity of life and the First Amendment, it is a war we must win.