http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/02/in-birth-control-debate-religious-beliefs-dont-trump-rights/252801/
But conscience or refusal clauses are also reminiscent of policies allowing white-only hospitals to refuse treatment to black patients, or accommodations to black travelers, in the segregated South. What if belief in segregation were an article of faith, a matter of conscience, for some? (Some clergymen once defended slavery.) I'm not comparing opposition to birth control with racism, much less slavery. I'm simply pointing out that religious beliefs can, and often do, conflict with civil society and individual rights.
Would we tolerate a religious right to refuse treatment or accommodation on the basis of race as readily as we tolerate a religious right to refuse reproductive health care? Of course not. Your right to act on your religious beliefs is not absolute; it's weighed against the rights that your actions would deny to others. Today, and perhaps for the foreseeable future, claims of religious freedom tend to outweigh claims of reproductive freedom. But that is a consequence of history, politics, and culture and is subject to change. The balance of power is not divinely ordained.
This is why I'm not so quick to say, "oh, respect for religion, I'll shut up now." Sometimes their positions are immoral. I live in the South, and I can tell you a lot of immoral preaching takes place in some churches not far from me. Real right wing nutty stuff. Just because someone says it's their religious belief does not mean they can skirt the law automatically. On abortion, I'll show some latitude since it is a deep philosophical argument, but not on birth control. They need to convince me why they shouldn't pay for that preventative care. The Church and religious people say they don't feel respected. Well, as a woman I am feeling deeply disrespected by a lot of religious MEN at this point.
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