Church wrong on birth control

So the Catholic Health Association “does not believe church affiliated employers should have to provide birth control as a free preventive service,” and the compromise plan offered by the president would not “adequately meet the religious liberty concerns of all its members.”

I agree with Joe Lang in his letter to the editor in the June 15 paper when he said, “People don’t possess the legal right to enforce their religious prejudices on others, though they are free to voice their opinion if they so desire.” So the question is, “What right does the Catholic Church have to force their religious belief regarding birth control onto their employees?”

Surely they employ people from many different cultural and religious backgrounds and not just Catholics. It’s one thing to teach the congregants of one’s church that birth control is wrong, and quite another thing to deny a large diverse population of employees the right to access reproductive services. I would just add that church-affiliated employers (or any employer for that matter) should not possess the right to force their religious beliefs or practices onto their employees.

Diane Belyea

Spokane