I don’t think I’ve ever disagreed with my priest before today. He is usually apolitical even though by virtue of being a priest, you kind of know where he stands on most issues. We are currently in the middle of the fortnight for freedom. It’s two weeks of daily prayer for religious freedom.

At the same time, yesterday, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the Hobby Lobby case having to do with an employer’s religious beliefs. I’m a little incensed, so I’ll be touching on these and other related topics. If I’ve got facts wrong, please message me and I will most definitely look into it.

As for my priest, there is, of course, the fundamental difference between us in his anti-abortion stance and I am pro-choice and pro-women being in charge of their own bodies and reproduction, and while this is related, I’m disappointed with how many religious people and institutions, not just the Catholic Church, have corrupted the argument.

The current pro-life movement is anything but. It also reminds me of a recent argument. “They”, self-ascribed pro-life people claim to be for all life and want abortions criminalized again regardless of the consequences to women who are already born. “They” add the caveat of “innocent lives”.

Fetuses are innocent. Well, aren’t their mothers who are raped?

Aren’t the mothers who will die giving birth innocent?

That’s how pro-life people can be for the death penalty and against abortion.

Well, some say, don’t have an abortion, just don’t get pregnant. What a great idea! As if it was that easy, but let’s leave that argument to the side for now.

Okay, I will prevent pregnancy.

Whoops! I can’t afford contraception. Perhaps my significant other can have a vasectomy? Completely covered and does the same damn thing: prevents pregnancy. Alas, many men are “not comfortable” with that option.

Think I’m kidding? Ask a couple of men. I’ve seen the shudder and watched the nonchalantly crossed legs. Seinfeld’s done an entire episode on the subject.

What is the problem? It’s not like a vasectomy would make someone impotent. And even if it does, you can get Viagra or other erectile dysfunction drug. Completely covered by your employer’s health care plan.

Women have to fight for mammograms, for breast cancer screenings, for maternity leave. Will the pro-life people pay for the maternity leave for the mothers forced to have these children? What about the medical care for non-pregnancy related illness that contraceptives treat? So much for family values, Hobby Lobby and their ilk.

Religious freedom goes hand in hand with the separation of church and state. Your religious freedom should not impinge on my freedom from your religion.  Stifling my religion because it doesn’t match yours and there may be more of you is not keeping you free from persecution. It is, in fact, persecuting me.

You (general you) has no right to tell the state (or my employer) what religion or aspects of religion I can practice.

The Supreme Court made a mistake, much like the mistake they made with Plessy v. Ferguson and As Plessy was corrected, so will this be.

Hobby Lobby is not a Mom and Pop family business. It is absurd to describe it that way. If they were preventing the treatment because of not believing in medical care as their religious beliefs, would that be okay? No, it wouldn’t, and we all know that, but when it comes specifically to women, no one bats an eye.

Regardless of your personal view of contraception, contraceptives are medical solutions to many medical illnesses, but now those women will go back to being sick and taking time off from work. I guess that gives Hobby Lobby (and others) another excuse to get rid of sick people and get them off the health insurance altogether because I will tell you – a family business’ first priority shouldn’t be money if they claim the mantle of “family business.”

If this fortnight for freedom were for religious persecution around the world for all religions I could get behind it, but it’s not.

It’s for perceived religious persecution in the U.S., particularly Christians who feel that the legal system, the government should be a Christian one and you can’t ask for religious freedom in a country that gives you exactly that.

The two major Christian holidays are national days off. You are not forced to work (or shop) on Sunday. You are not held down and force fed contraceptives or sterilized (like prisoners and Blacks in the 1950s). During Lent, no one forces you to eat meat on Friday.

This country was founded on religious freedom and the separation of church and state. The Declaration of Independence that we are quoting from in our daily prayer was written by a deist, someone who believes in a Supreme G-d, but not in a particular religion.

Let’s rethink this and use our voice for equality, for civil rights, for human rights and for individuals – men and women to be in charge of their own bodies and their own family planning and not pretend that corporations are people.

We don’t want to have to choose a religion of the land to follow unless we want to divide up the country and cordon off each religion its own area to worship as they will and only as they will.

For me, that seems to defeat the purpose of a United States.