My Response to the HHS Mandate

This evening I responded to the HHS Mandate and wanted to share my thoughts with you. I responded with the following words:

As a woman, I object to the Obama's administration's mandate to cover contraceptives on the basis that the use of contraceptives degrades the marriage relationship and is abhorrent to God.  God created man and woman to be united in a monogamous relationship for life.  A relationship that is open to having children, rearing them together, and making sacrifices for each other and for their children. 

I object to the coverage of contraceptives because they destroy the family.  They enable weak men and women (as we all are) to indulge in pleasure almost indiscriminately.  They encourage our teenage children to become sexually active before they are emotionally or mentally ready to form the complex relationship between and man and a woman. 

The failure of contraceptives can create new life that may be born into a family that is devoid of a mom or a dad, or aborted.  Either option is difficult for the woman who carries the baby and less than optimal for the child. (Perhaps a slight understatement.)

I object to the coverage of contraception because it is destructive to women.  Our society wants to promote that contraceptives are a "right".  Instead it puts us (women) in a situation where it is difficult to say "no".  We have heard the line over again, "what is the big deal?" The cultural expectation is that what women want is great sex.  I believe that what a woman wants, and needs is a stable lifetime relationship, not a series of sexual acrobats that entice her and move into and out of her life.

I object to the coverage of contraceptives in this healthcare bill because the use of contraceptives is not health care. If a woman wants to use contraception, she can pay for it herself. (As I did for many years.)  

More than any of the above reasons, I do not support free access to contraceptives because I regret my use of contraceptives in my marriage.  I ignored the wisdom of the Church, not even bothering to read Humane Vitae, while I put powerful drugs into my system that altered the natural cycles of my body.  Once I read the Church’s teaching on his subject, I immediately understood its teaching and realized how foolish I had been. The use of contraceptives builds barriers between spouses and detaches the intimate sexual act from married love. 

The use of contraceptives is not a right, it is a choice.  In this land of the free, employers should have the choice to provide health care coverage that does not violate their moral and religious convictions. 

You can also send your comments regarding the HHS Mandate by clicking on http://nchla.org/actiondisplay.asp?ID=292.  The deadline is April 8, 2013.