Unless you’re living under a rock, you have probably heard about the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby. You’ve probably read multiple articles about how they no longer face penalties if they don’t provide insurance coverage to their employees for 4 specific forms of contraception. And, if you’re like me, you’ve also spent a lot of time reading the comments on these articles, Facebook posts, etc.
Because I tend to lean to the right, I generally agree with a lot of what the articles and those who comment are saying. (Full disclosure: I am a conservative Christian who is completely and utterly pro-life, yet the vitriol that I’m reading in the name of Christ has just gone too far.) Today I was almost blind with rage when I started reading the comments of the so-called “live like Jesus”, compassionate-to-all, non-judgmental Christian right.
These Christians, these people who try to convince the world that they are living as Jesus would, who claim they are compassionate to all mankind and welcome anyone with open arms…these “Christians” are almost literally partying in the streets, waving the Christian flag and GLOATING about this Supreme Court decision. Yes, gloating!
All of the high-horseness seems to be centered specifically on the victory of removing the mandate for coverage for the morning after pill. It is definitely generating the most conversation. While that is 50% of the contraception that Hobby Lobby no longer has to provide insurance coverage for, I’m not going to address that one except to say that a) I don’t agree for a second that the MAP is an abortion drug, and b) it’s non-prescription anyway so it’s really a moot point. The other 50% of what is now exempt are the IUDs and that is what I want to discuss.
I had a Paragard IUD (non-hormonal) inserted after the birth of my daughter. I needed a rock-solid form of birth control that did not include hormones. Paragard prevents pregnancy by preventing the sperm from getting to the egg; it also may cause changes in the uterine lining to prevent implantation.
My husband and I have a healthy, active sex life, within the boundaries and privacy of our home and our marriage. Therefore, by the reasoning of Hobby Lobby and a vocal group of pitchfork-waving Christians, for almost 6 years I have most likely aborted dozens of my children, as my IUD would have kept any fertilized eggs from implanting in my uterus if any sperm did get through.
I don’t believe for a minute that making a uterine lining unfavorable for implantation is or should be considered an abortion.
If you believe that life starts with a fertilized egg, well, then I guess I can’t argue with that, as that is what you BELIEVE, which is your right. But I BELIEVE, which is MY right, that life does not begin until that embryo is implanted and has begun to develop into a baby.
Here is what I believe, based on information obtained from nlm.nih.gov:
When a sperm fertilizes an egg, it creates a cell called a zygote. The zygote contains all of the genetic information (DNA) needed to become a baby. Note that word: NEEDED. The zygote is a primary ingredient for a baby, but it has not YET become a baby. The zygote spends the next few days traveling down the Fallopian tube. During this time, it divides to form a ball of cells called a blastocyst. A blastocyst is made up of an inner group of cells with an outer shell. The inner group of cells will become the embryo. The embryo is what will develop into your baby.
The outer group of cells will become structures, called membranes, which nourish and protect the embryo. Once the blastocyst reaches the uterus, it can bury itself in the uterine wall if it’s ready to support a baby; otherwise it is expelled with the wall of the uterus during the menstrual cycle. If the blastocyst is able to stick, then the “embryonic period” begins. This is when all the baby’s major systems and structures develop. Now all the pieces are in place. THIS is when life begins.
Moving on…
NOBODY WANTS IT FREE!
So many comments are basically “They want this stuff for free” or “They want us to subsidize their immoral sexual lifestyles.” First off, married people use birth control too. Married people want to plan how many children they have. Not everyone is unmarried and promiscuous or wants to be the next Duggars. People are not asking for anything “free”. They want these services that do not conflict with their religious beliefs included in the healthcare plan that THEY are paying for, either via the exchange or via the employee-contribution for their corporate health care plan. Thanks to ACA, all policies are now one size fits all. Don’t like it? You shouldn’t have voted for any of those who supported it. Didn’t vote for it? Well, life isn’t fair sometimes and we just have to roll with it. In the meantime, quit whining about what the ACA does and does not cover. Hilariously, these same Christians who are all about “we shouldn’t have to pay for abortion drugs” are saying in the same breath “If you can’t afford it, go to Planned Parenthood and get it.” (um…hypocrite much? Aren’t these Christians against Planned Parenthood as well?)
You don’t have to use the services if you don’t want to, you don’t have to LIKE that the services are covered, but you don’t get to deny services to others based on a singular religious belief and then crow about it when you finally get your way. Christians? Really? What a great example you are.
How a person uses their medical insurance is no more your business than how they spend their paycheck. Getting mental health services for alcohol abuse? Not your problem. Using an IUD to have the best protection against pregnancy aside from sterilization? Not your problem. Using insurance to get sex-reassignment surgery? NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! And on that note: Why aren’t these “Christians” calling out for policies not to cover sex-assignment surgeries, or IVF for gay couples, or liver transplants for alcoholics, or drug abuse treatment for the addicts? Aren’t all these sins in their eyes? Why are they fine with “paying” for some or all of those things, but not for 2 specific methods of birth control that medical science has confirmed are NOT abortificants?
“But…but…my tax dollars, I’m paying for it…”
Look, no one is getting a discount for not covering these 2 forms of birth control. No taxpayers are paying less. The company will still pay the same; the employees will still contribute the same. The taxpayers will still be subsidizing the same — which is ZERO, because it’s an employer-offered health care plan. Hobby Lobby is saving money, yes, but it’s because they won’t be paying the hefty fines for not following the mandate, not because they will now get a discounted rate on their health care coverage. If anything, the fact that the President is now looking at offering government-subsidized birth control to the women affected by this ruling will probably cost taxpayers (yes, you too, Christians!) even more. Thanks!
To sum up my ranting – there is nothing in the Bible that specifically points to when life begins. It is left up to interpretation, interpretation based on science and fact. Christians are all over the place with what they believe and that’s fine too. What is not fine is one group taking public and/or medical services away from everyone else based on only their religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby is not a person; they are a corporation. Providing a birth control method that might cause an abortion is not being complicit to an abortion if it happens. Don’t agree with abortion? Yikes, then by all means don’t provide anything that might cause one. Don’t agree with murder? Yikes, then by all means don’t sell guns to people who might possibly use one to kill someone.
Oh wait…is that contradictory, Christian conservatives?
Author’s Note: This article is not referencing all Christians, simply the ones who hide behind their ‘convictions’ and beliefs, yet spew contempt for their fellow man and gloat about a victory that may not be a positive thing for everyone.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks