DEAR EDITOR:
Catholics and Christians of all denominations are insulted by the unprecedented assault on the Catholic Church by the Obama administration which "forces" Catholic schools, hospitals and charities to pay for abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization for their employees.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that this is the very first time in our nation's history the federal government is forcing organizations to buy a product that violates their conscience.
The Obama administration and the liberal media have tried to twist the issue into a woman's health issue, to hide from the actual issue of American rights as protected by the 1st Amendment. We who prize religious liberty will not back down. This policy requiring all Catholics to violate their consciences will not be left unchallenged. The Catholic Church has vowed to continue its defense of religious liberty in the courts. Other Christian leaders and evangelical pastors also stand united with Catholics.
Every American should also question why the taxpayer must pay for the sex lives of women in our country. Taxpayers, who, as a matter of religion choose not to use contraceptive products, should not be forced to pay for products they do not believe in. Should we also be forced to pay for tobacco products for people addicted to tobacco? The same scenario can be cited for alcoholics. Do we pay for their alcohol?
Our country has become a nation of "entitlements" - we want everything for free. Unfortunately, free is not actually free. It is paid for by us, the taxpayers. What happened to the 1961 inaugural address and Democrat philosophy of John F. Kennedy in which he said "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." It appears that over the past 50 years, the Democrat philosophy has been totally reversed. If we continue down this path of "entitlements," America too will fall the way of Greece and Italy and bankrupt our economy.
Currently, 47 percent of Americans pay no federal income tax while the other 53 percent of Americans carry the load for the country. Our ancestors came from Europe yearning for religious freedom and freedom from government intervention. Mandating abortion-inducing drugs and contraception along with the Obamacare mandate to purchase health care insurance should and will be found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Maybe then America will return to our Constitutional roots and the beliefs of our founding fathers.
-- Cathy Lukasko, Brookfield