Letter: Two sides in birth-control issue
President Barack Obama, with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the White House, announces the revamp of his contraception policy (Feb. 10, 2012) Credit: AP
While Bishop William Murphy attempts to make a compelling case for religious freedom ["This 'accommodation' doesn't cut it," Opinion, Feb. 15], his argument, in the final analysis, doesn't cut it.
There are no unlimited freedoms, including freedom of religion. As an example, I recall the U.S. Supreme Court's dictum that the right to freedom of speech does not give anyone the right to falsely yell "fire" in a crowded theater.
In the past, a basic tenet of the Mormon religion was polygamy. Mitt Romney's great-grandfather fled the United States and emigrated to Mexico because he refused to forsake his five wives. Did not the government violate the constitutional principle of freedom of religion when it forbade polygamy?
The Mormon religion refused to accept and recognize African-Americans in its church until the late 1970s. Should a Mormon hospital have been allowed to refuse treatment to blacks in the name of freedom of religion?
If a child needed a life-saving medical operation, but such a surgery violated his parents' religious teaching, should they have the right to refuse that surgery in the name of freedom of religion, or should the government step in to save the child's life?
I'm sure many other examples could be found to illustrate this key point in the perennial battle between freedom, rights, responsibilities and the rule of reason.
Jack Bilello, Massapequa Park
In ["The right compromise," Editorial, Feb. 13], your editorial states: "The insurance companies that cover those employees will be required to do it instead, without imposing additional costs on the employers or out-of-pocket cost on workers."
Please be so kind as to explain exactly where and how the insurance companies will obtain the money to cover the employees if the employer is not paying for this coverage in its premiums, and where and how the insurance companies will obtain the money to cover the out-of-pocket costs of workers if the workers are not paying for such coverage in premiums.
Norman J. Gersman, Great Neck
