Contraception and Birth Control

Wait a second here.  President Obama did not “mandate” compulsory birth control.  As the headline plainly states, this is a mandate for insurance coverage for birth control.

Nobody is going to drag a young — or older — woman kicking and screaming into a gynecologist’s office and force her to take pills or injections or put anything into another orifice.

People are complaining that the President did not consult with people like Catholic religious groups.  The Republicans especially do not like this.  This is not surprising as they do not seem to like anything President Obama does — include breathe.

The Republicans — well, their opposition is supported by the part of the nation that seems to have chosen to “stupid up” its politics –left and right, liberal and conservative, yes and no.

If someone does not want to offer a service because of their faith – well, they don’t have to.  In our wonderfully independent nation, they could generally find a way to get out of it.  And if someone’s needs and convictions lead them to want to offer a service, they can expect to find a way as well.

“Abortion” seems to be a magic word that makes people take out weapons and consider murder.  But “birth control?”  I am proud of the physicians and medical students who have signed the letter to President Obama and encouraged him to make this service available.

I cannot figure what the anger of Republicans and Catholics will achieve, except for more little tiny Republicans and more little tiny Catholics.  I do not think either group has any legal right to tell their followers what to do.

I remember years ago, when I was very little, hearing the not-yet-president John Fitzgerald Kennedy saying that the Pope and Catholic authorities simply could not tell him what to do.  He said “I will make up my own mind” on American issues.

In every religion I have known, some individuals are more observant than others.  There are Jews who eat pork and there are Catholics who use birth control.  I know these people — decent, friendly, and intelligent people.  Beliefs should not be confused with orders in the world of the intelligent, reflective and responsible.  It may be different in the world of “ditto-heads,” or people who elect to have other people — like radio discussion leaders — tell them what to think.

The doctors who signed that letter are dealing, like I am, with folks on the front line.  Folks like the sweet girl — 19 years old — I saw recently.  She was seriously and persistently mentally ill.  I asked her how she ended up with a baby daughter, only to give primary custody to a father with whom she did not have very much of a relationship.  She told me “it just happened”.

The quality of human life is important.  And thought and reflection are the underlying necessities for preserving the quality of human life.

It hurts me when I see the America around me “stupiding up.”  Maybe it has always been like this and my appreciation for the human situation has deepened.  All too often, people decide what they already believe in and look for the arguments afterward.

Nobody living now can possibly remember the “Cross of Gold” speech given by William Jennings Bryan at the Democratic National Convention in 1896.  The greatest orator of his time, he gave his famous speech about monetary systems. He stated publicly that he wanted to give people what they wanted and would think of the arguments later.

I think most of “religious” America really does think in that way.

Bryan didn’t win his presidential race.  Maybe it was not an accident.

When we talk about birth control, we are not talking about cutting off human life.  Instead, we are talking about preventing what might be a miserable one, and one that might generate considerable pain among the living.

We are talking about “accidents” or “mistakes” in a high-handed way, where the adults and the unborn can be heading for pain beyond description.

The doctors who endorsed this decision are, like me, the ones who try to clean up impossible messes.

A deity can only reveal truths according to what people can understand and accept.  And a lot has happened since the Bible was written.

Somebody please try thinking instead of simply believing and reacting.