You vs. Church and State OR (Title X just fucked me without my consent)
***Any Readers who are looking for reproductive health services can find links and info below****
Women's reproductive rights took a major blow from the Trump administration recently. A decision by the White House prohibits any federal funds be allocated to organizations that perform, discuss or propose abortion. To be clear, federal funds have not been allocated for abortions (except for rape, incest and life of the mother) since the Hyde Amendment was passed in 1977. A number of states even sought to go beyond the Hyde amendment and restrict all federal funds for ANY abortion. This means that any health care provider who uses federal funding (Medicare) cannot apply any of those funds towards abortions, this included Planned Parenthood. So federal funds have not been used for abortions for quite some time, but now the rules have shifted to include any health care provider who discuss or propose abortion as an option… and this changes things quite dramatically.
According to Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, they have a right to decide, “the conscience of taxpayers.” Using their own moral authority, these groups have now blocked federal funding to health care providers who even educate women on ALL reproductive health options available to them, which includes abortion. So here is where we begin to have a problem… Religion does not get to dictate the legislation of the country, not yet. If the argument of the moral conscience of taxpayers is grounds to dictate where federal funds are allocated, then I want my areas of moral outrage on federal spending to be heard and addressed. Here are a few of the areas where I feel morally conflicted as a taxpayer and therefore do NOT want my tax money going toward the following…
1) Any federal funding that is used to support the industrial war machine; including enriching private arms manufactures and defense contractors.
2) Any federal funding that is used to promote and support “Faith based science,” in public educational institutions.
3) Any Federal funding that is allocated to faith based / religious institutions.
4) Any Federal funding that enables the destruction of the environment or creates environmental health risks to the population.
5) Any Federal funding that goes towards benefiting wealthy corporations, individuals and / or companies who do not take effective steps to decrease the wealth income divide in America ( this can include just paying their fair share of taxes).
6) Any federal funding that goes towards building walls or militarizing our boarders.
7) Any federal funds used by politicians to pay off settlements and / or legal fees for acts of moral misconduct.
8) Any federal funds allocated to energy industries that are not reusable, green, or sustainable.
9) Any federal funds that are used by politicians for the purpose of fundraising when that politician is also accepting money given through special interests and PAC's. For example: no campaign contribution calls while on the taxpayer's clock.
10) Any Federal funds that are used which blur the separation of church and state.
Also I think that if America’s faith based institutions want to decide how federal funds are allocated and appropriated, we should re-examine the separation of Church and State and decide that the time has come to tax religious institutions who want to use their pulpit to enact legislation. If religious institutions take issue with being taxed, which they abhor, then they need to stay out of legislation that broadens their moral authority over secular society.
The issue of the White House's decision is larger than women’s ability to access abortions, which they have a legal right to. What happened with this decision was that Americans were dictated to by an ecclesiastical moral narrative. America used to believe that individuals had the right to privacy under the bill of rights. But we now seem to have blurred the line between a religion’s freedom and the freedom of an individual who practices religion. What happened to Separation of Church and State?
Masking a religious institution’s agenda as its congregant's concerns has resulted in ushering in laws driven by establishments of religion. This directly conflicts with the 1st amendment. So here's my take away from the White House's decision: I have been informed that my individual rights as a woman just lost out to the moral doctrine of the religious right. But where does this end?? According to the documentary Birthright: A War Story it can go much further.
The argument from the religious Reich has been that abortion is an immoral act and should therefore be illegal, but does the argument stop there? Well, if you listen to many churches beliefs on contraception, the argument does not end there. For many Christians the act of sex with contraception is interfering with God’s plan and should therefore be prohibited from use. So based on the most recent decision regarding a woman’s ability to control what she does with her reproductive system, it seems only logical that these same groups could try and impose legislation over any birth control that they deem morally reprehensible. It is public knowledge that religious freedom groups want to outlaw abortion because they find it goes against their morals, but based on that logic where does it end? How do we trust a group to know where to draw the line on imposing their moral beliefs onto a larger secular population when they’ve already claimed this issue to be a Holy Crusade? In fact, the attack on birth control has already been waged with Hobby Lobby arguing they have a moral objection to contraceptives and therefore should not be obligated to provide coverage for them.
So if the federal government is now willing to put the moral concerns of some over the individual rights of the many, we are living in a country where personal freedom no longer exists for women (and therefore potentially other minorities). It’s really that simple. That’s it. If my choice around birth control (or the private decisions I make with my doctor), offend religious individuals so much that I’m legislatively prohibited from accessing them, then I no longer have equal rights in this country. So let’s cut the shit and get down to it. Let’s just admit what’s really going on here…
This government, backed by a religious agenda, which poses as morally concerned citizens claiming religious freedom, is systematically dismantling women’s civil rights. And anyone denying this is full of shit. If religious freedom is really at the heart of this matter then individuals opposed to abortion wouldn’t get them or use birth control, they have that right. As for the rest of us… my morality is between me and whatever god I’m comfortable with (even if that’s no God at all) and our constitution gives me that right. (For now)
But to Pro-life advocates, you can still be active! I have a patriotically American option to those who insist on imposing their religious beliefs onto secular society: Send thoughts and prayers.
Which brings me to my “In closing”… The bottom line is: if access to comprehensive reproductive health is important to you, and / or you don’t want the government or a church deciding what you can do with your body, or what you can discuss with your Doctor, get involved. We can no longer sit on the sidelines, register to vote, know your representatives and follow what they do. Also, if you’re a single-issue voter… you must go beyond that. Voting on single-issue items will only pigeon hole the issue of women’s health. It needs to be tied into universal health care, income inequality, civil rights... in other words: you need to think intersectionally. Our reproductive rights are human rights, which means: supporting the ACLU, the NAACP, NOW, HRC and other organizations championing for human rights. This is a war, and you need to pick sides because they won’t stop until they’ve won, and their victory is at the expense of all of our rights.
****If you want to support legislation challenging the Hyde Amendment find links here:
H.R. 2972: Equal Access to Abortion
H.R. 771: Equal Access to Abortion coverage in Health Insurance
H.R. 1322: Women's Health Protection Act
Find educational and informational links below to organizations that support your rights as an American.
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