My Uterus is my Temple... not theirs

The debate about contraceptives continues in Washington and of course, the religious groups negotiating with congress are, in the vast majority, composed of men, out of those the representatives of the Catholic Church are not even – hypothetically – engaged in a sexual relationship. However, these men think that they have the right to impose their opinions and beliefs on every woman walking on the face of the earth, not only Catholic women. These same "holy" men (and I am using the term "holy" very, very loosely) do not seem to object to vasectomies or to the use of Viagra for men to fornicate for pleasure and not necessarily for procreation… the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church is unbelievable!

The Catholic Church is debating the contraceptive mandate on the grounds that it is against their belief and morals. Can someone ask these Bishops and the Pope why don’t they make such a fuss over the death penalty? Among the capital sins, I believe, there is the “Thou Shall Not Kill” commandment; yet, they do not revolt every time someone is fried in this country or anywhere else. They solemnly give the last rites to the poor soul that is going to be executed, but that’s about it.

Then, we must remember that nowhere among those 10 commandments was a commandment saying “Thou shall not take the pill”, I have really  tried to find it but no, it’s nowhere to be found. Furthermore, these representatives from the Catholic Church are themselves breaking a mandate given to all mankind by the almighty Jesus: “Love and procreate,” what happened to them then? Why they can’t procreate/fornicate/make love? If we are to follow the mandates of the New Testament to the extreme as they want us to, we should demand the same from them.

I still believe that the penis and uterus belongs to whoever owns it and not the church, not the government, not you not me unless, of course, it’s your own organ. If contraceptives means "preventing an egg from being fertilized" good, no "babies" were killed, just prevented from forming; if an abortion during the very first weeks means murder, the judgment for that should be between that woman and her god and not a public or church affair. God, presumably, gave us free will and that includes making a reproductive decision, even if a wrong decision.

There are thousands if not millions of children languishing in orphanages all around the world; thousands more have been abused and even murdered after being born because the mother was not fit for that role and it would have been much better for her to take contraceptives or damn, have an abortion before giving birth to a live baby to kill or abuse it. But of course, the Catholic Church doesn’t see it that way, I think their main concern is running out of children for them to abuse – who will they sexually take advantage of if there is a limited amount of children? I really think that is their main worry, a decreasing number of children to focus their sexual depravation on.

Until the Catholic Church picks up the tab for every child born, for every woman whose future is destroyed by having a child when she is a child herself, for every child that has been sexually abused by the predatory church… when the Catholic Church does this, then and only then it may have the right to interfere with a political mandate that concerns women and express their opinion, but until that happens, they should keep out of women’s uterus… We all know that they don’t care for a woman’s uterus or vulva for that matter, its no wonder why they’re celibate…. Only children matter to them, and not necessarily in a pure and holy way.

To be or not to be

Today, when I heard the news that President Obama had compromised with the Catholic Church I was appalled! Without listening to the President, I assumed – and I know one never must do that – that Catholic women were going to be denied that very important coverage and I couldn’t believe it! As it turned out to be, the Catholic Church managed to save a few dollars, as well as their employees, since the new mandate requires for insurance companies to ‘pick-up’ the tab. I am glad for the women employed by the Catholic Church but… there’s always a but, that means that the Catholic Church not only pays no taxes, but that the insurance premium that they will pay will be cheaper too. Once again, the wealthiest of institutions get away with not spending a dime and someone else paying for it, or do you honestly think that the insurance companies will pay for this? Of course not! They will distribute that expense onto the paying individuals and companies enrolled with them.

I am so fed up with religion institutions, particularly the Catholic Church, getting away with murder! From influencing in politics, not only in the United States but worldwide to hiding pedophiles, from not paying taxes and contributing like any other corporation – which is what they truly are – to picking and choosing who deserves their help in the form of charity. Thus far, the Catholic Church has enough money to help all the children from being killed in Somalia, but they don’t. We only need to look at the luxury in the Vatican; one of the gems in any of the jewels in the Vatican could save those children… One of the paintings stored in the Vatican could save those children but no, it is guarded and cherished while children are being murdered. And now, through their manipulation and false indignation they have, once more, got their way.

I call for action. Action to demand for all religious institutions that take part in making a political comment, whether these comments are made from the pulpit or publicly, or openly criticizing any political party, rule, law or leader – to nullify their 501c3 application. Churches receive that special treatment of no paying any taxes thanks to that application in exchange, they (the church) can’t openly speak out, organize in opposition to, anything that the government declares “legal,” even if it is immoral (e.g. abortion, homosexuality, contraception, etc.), a church that openly express their opinion and instigate their congregation against a political figure or against a law or mandate jeopardizes their tax exempt status. So, when on earth are we going to remove their free ride? Let’s pull the rug from under their feet – talk all they want but PAY for it!

A “pill” too hard to swallow

According to a recent article written by Jessica Yellin and Brianna Keilar, both Correspondents for CNN, the White House is trying to adjust the health care policy to appease the Catholic Church and perhaps get the vote of some Catholics. The article claims that this adjustment is due to “an avalanche of criticism.” Apparently, the White House will try to implement the same policy that is currently used in Hawaii for religion institutions, in which women that work for Catholic charities, hospitals and the church can acquire coverage directly from the insurance company at the same price their employers would pay. I do not think it’s fair that women working for Catholic enterprises and who may or may not profess that religion have to be excluded from that benefit, unless the Catholic Church increase their salary to the same amount they would have to pay out-of-pocket to acquire it. However, this modification suggested by the White House is not being accepted by the Catholic Bishops, according to the article the leaders of the Catholic Church will only accept a total reversal on the policy – which means totally removing the contraceptive clause from the health care policy. Who on earth do the Catholic Church thinks they are?

I am so tired of having any religious institution – who pay no taxes, who at no time accept government interference in ANY of their day-to-day business (as it should be), who have no government regulations set in place, to think that the government has no business in their religious matters but that they, the religious institutions of any denomination, have any right whatsoever in changing governmental policies because it does not agrees with their views! The religious groups are overstepping their boundaries interfering with politics – both at a local and national level – forcing their views onto everyone else as if the separation of church and state didn’t exist or if it does, it simply does not apply to them. While the leaders of any religious corporation (that’s what they are) enjoy a life of luxury, no taxes paid, no need to report any of their actions to the government because if the government decided to interfere in any of their business they will cry religious prosecution, they seem to think they have "divine" power and can stick their noses where it does not belong.

Of course, as expected, we have the Speaker of the House, Mr. "Cry me a River" Boehner, accusing this administration of ‘attacking religion freedom." How is that so? How it's making contraceptives accessible, not forcing any woman to take them, an attack on religion freedom? Why is not an attack to the State what religion institutions are doing? Why does this "attack" can only be applied on one direction? I am not surprised either at the holier than God comments coming from all the Republican candidates which are all up in arms about the intrusion of government in religion… Mitt Romney, as usual, is already counting his chickens before they hatch and has added another thing he would do on his first day as President, reversing this clause. Sorry Romney, but you will not be the 45^th President of the United States.

Mr. President, keep the policy as it is! Do not allow religion to change the policies that will affect thousands of women, even millions if the Catholic Church gets its way. It is time for a real separation of church and state, it is time for any religious institution to pay their fair share of taxes – no more getting rich by preaching, no more favoritism. According to their own beliefs, money is sinful… so lets help them release some of that sin, and pay taxes after all, they can’t seem to separate religion and politics so, if they want to be involved in politics they should contribute to the country, financially, as everyone else does!

Contraceptive Controversy

There have been numerous comments and uproars about the “contraceptive mandate” in the Obama Healthcare Reform that demands that women must have access, in the healthcare provided by their employers, to pregnancy preventive services. The Catholic Church is adamant in capitulating to this mandate alleging that the mandate is a violation to their religious beliefs. I can understand but, isn’t that what they do with those of us that don’t agree with their beliefs?

Let me begin by saying that the religious groups are constantly imposing on everyone their religious values: Gay marriage is a big no-no, abortion is out of the question even for atheists and “One Nation under God” was added to our Pledge of Allegiance in 1951 forcing us to say it if we pledge allegiance to the flag, and the list goes on. Why do churches believe that they have the right to impose their views onto everyone else but not the other way around? After all, we all pay taxes.  Sorry, I forgot... Churches don’t even do that, they are tax-free “leeches.”

What amazes me is the little faith they do profess towards their female parishioners with these uproars. If they are so certain that their flock is so faithful to their religion, what’s the problem then? They can include access to these services but the religious women will not use them, or are they afraid that they would if these resources were readily available? Again, isn’t in the Bible – their holy book – that God gave men free will precisely for them to make their own decisions? Why is it that churches believe that they must control people and force them to make the "right" decision? If that is what God had intended, we would all be like zombies, no decisions to be made, no rights or wrongs.  According to their own religion and scriptures, we are supposed to have the freedom to make our own choices, but I guess that only applies to "men", women must obey.

It is obvious that I am not religious but I do not condemn those who are, they have all the right in the world to worship as they please, as long as they don’t push their beliefs down my throat as they are always trying to do. I have an equal right not to belief and to do as my principles dictates, not theirs. After all at the end if God does exist, it will be a matter between that God and myself – I don’t need an intermediary or a conscience… I already have my own!