A lot of people freaked out over this. Even though the rule exempted Catholic churches themselves. Republicans seized on the issue, casting the rule as an assault on religious liberty, and President Obama as a godless secularist.
The guys who usually bloviate about abortion turned their attention to contraception, which is where they were always headed anyway. They dragged everybody into the way-back machine with them. So, we’re fighting about the Pill. In 2012. While we’re at it, let’s demand The Beatles get haircuts.
Catholic bishops declared war. In a letter to churches last Sunday, Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley said the rule “strikes at a fundamental right to religious liberty.’’ Here is the chewy part: “We Catholics . . . must be prepared either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees,’’ he wrote, echoing bishops across the country.
This was mostly special effects: O’Malley was fulminating over a rule that has been in effect in Massachusetts for 10 years. A 2002 law requires that all health insurance cover contraceptives. Like the Obama regulation, it exempts churches, but includes employees of Catholic-affiliated entities. Catholic churches didn’t like it, but they haven’t pulled employees’ health insurance over it. And 27 other states have similar laws.
But here was an opportunity for the bishops, whose flock fled them on contraception long ago, to take back some control. Besides, how could they not make a huge fuss, what with so many Republicans madly jumping up and down?
Which brings us to Mitt Romney, the Meryl Streep of politics: Is there any role our former governor won’t embrace? Romney was in high dudgeon over the rule, and the need to fight it. He didn’t fight it when he was governor, however. Though he opposed mandates of all kinds in his health care overhaul, he never targeted contraceptive coverage, or invoked religious liberty, the way he is now.
