Tag: religious exemption

February 20, 2014
image of kid getting ear tweaked

Recently a Pennsylvania couple was convicted of allowing a second sick child to die. They tried to use their religion as a defense for refusing to take two of their children to medical professionals. Did you know that Ohio also exempts religious beliefs of the parents from laws meant to protect children? This is the worst kind of religious privilege since it can lead to the death of a child. We need to demand our legislatures remove religious exemptions for child abuse and neglect.

The other day a friend of mine, from my local Humanist group, pointed out a section of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC), Chapter 2919: Offenses Against The Family:

February 2, 2013
image of a month's supply of Birth Control pills

On Friday (02/01), President Obama’s administration announced a further watering down of the new health care rule that would require birth control coverage to be offered through an employee health plan. Previously churches were exempt but now religiously owned and operated non-profit groups and organizations will be able to gain an exemption if they request it. All exemptions would then shift the cost and provision of coverage to the insurance company. Of course the more vocal religious right groups say it’s not enough saying even private companies owned and operated by people who might have religious objections must be allowed to be exempt. They need to worry more about the people they serve rather than being so selfish.

August 6, 2012
image of Hole in the wall leads to trouble

The Catholic church and other religious conservatives are suing the government to invalidate the new health care regulation that forces them to provide insurance coverage for birth control for non-clergy workers. This follows the recent history of legal religious accommodation like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. But these attempts to knock down the wall of separation of church and state leads down a road I don’t think most people have thought about in trying to roll back religious neutrality.

March 24, 2012
image of the Catholic protest contraception covervage mandate

Saw in the news on Friday (3/23), in various cities across the country, the Catholic church organized members to protest the upcoming contraception coverage mandate that is part of the Affordable Care Act. Under the guise of religious freedom, Bishops, nuns, and others – mostly men – complained about the mandate. The problem is their protest was for the wrong reason and made them look silly.

At one such protest in Toledo Ohio:

January 31, 2012
image of Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr.

A Washington Post columnist, E.J. Dionne Jr., who I generally agree with most times, wrote in a recent column that President Obama’s administration messed up twice in drafting Department of Health and Human Services rules requiring insurance coverage of birth control under the health care reform law passed in 2010. It seems Dionne feels that since the President is a believer, he threw his liberal Catholic supporters under a bus by not allowing a exemption for Catholic hospitals, universities, and social-services. Dionne’s column was disturbing and yet educational as to why we must all play by the same rules.

June 25, 2011

The good news is that the New York state legislature finally approved a law that will allow same sex marriage. The bad news is that in order for this great thing to happen, changes in the law will allow religious sects AND the non-church businesses they operate to discriminate against gays without any legal repercussions. In the zeal to get these new rights for the LGBT community, did proponents give away the farm?

From the NY Times: