Cultural War Over Religion and the Pill

The Catholic church and Republicans are taking to the battlefield against a clause in the healthcare reform law that covers payment for birth control. The controversy comes in handy for the Republicans.

Tim Thomas blew his stack. “I Stand with the Catholics in the fight for Religious Freedom,” Thomas posted on his Facebook page. He also made reference to a line in an anti-Fascist poem, “It’s time to take a stand.” Just a few weeks earlier, Thomas was the only member of his hockey team to boycott an obligatory Stanley Cup reception at the White House, protesting what he saw it as too much government power.

Nearly forty years after the groundbreaking Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, a cultural war over contraception and government power looms agains. A recently added clause to the healthcare reform act mandates the inclusion of free birth control measures such as the “morning after” pill or employer-funded sterilization procedures.

While the church itself is exempted from the clause, the same isn’t true for church-affiliated entities such as hospitals or welfare organizations. The reform, vilified by Republicans as “Obamacare,” does not require the free provision of abortion services.

A storm of indignation immediately followed. Catholic bishops and priests raged against the clause and New York’s newly appointed cardinal Tim Dolan thundered that it was an attack on the first amendment.

The controversy comes at an opportune time for Republicans. Until now, the campaign had focused on fiscal policies and the need for leaner government in order to bring down the deficit. But now, social conservatives have caught fire. Mormon Mitt Romney immediately declared solidarity with Catholics and claimed the action was unconstitutional and an attack on religious liberty. Reaction from the two Catholic candidates was even sharper. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum both called the Obama administration’s action a war against religion, particularly on the Catholic church. The House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a majority, has threatened to reverse the decision.

Since 28 states already had similar rules in effect, Obama was somewhat surprised by the strong objections. He had included a number of prominent Catholic members of his cabinet in the decision making process, including Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. Several of the president’s supporters are now recommending some compromise, perhaps similar to the one in effect in Hawaii where employers in church-related institutions offer supplemental insurance that covers the cost of birth control.

At 78 million, Catholics represent a significant segment of the population. They tend to vote Democratic and 54 percent of them voted for Obama in 2008. Above all in the “rust belt” – Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – they are important in deciding elections. Catholic influence is also growing due to the influx of Hispanics and their higher birth rate.

At the same time, Obama cannot afford to alienate progressives and women. New York Representative Kirsten Gillibrand remarked “I am dumbfounded that in the year 2012 we still have to fight over birth control.” Public opinion surveys show that 98 percent of Catholic women use some form of birth control.

The level of hypocrisy in the fight is illustrated by the example of Karen Santorum, wife of the vehemently anti-abortion presidential candidate and a mother of seven. Prior to her marriage, she lived with a physician who performed abortions. She never raised any objections then.