Thursday, August 21, 2008
Gay Rights trump Religious Freedom?
Alright, people who know me may have realized that I've avoided discussing or writing about political, social, and religious issues lately. Frankly, I've just been tired of the arguments, tired of the hostility. I know what's right and what's wrong, if asked directly I'll provide a straight answer. Otherwise I'm not volunteering an opinion as often as I once did.
However, this story is just so absurd that I can't help but point it out. As I understand it two doctors in an OB/GYN practice were sued because they refused to provide artificial insemination to a lesbian woman. The plaintiff claims that the doctors' refusal is a violation of the state's anti-discrimination laws. The doctors claim that their refusal is a matter of religious principle protected under the US Constitution. Keep in mind that this an elective procedure, not a life saving procedure. Now, as I see it, the Constitution of the United States of America, the supreme civil law of the land, provides specific protection for religious freedom. I am not aware that the constitution provides any specific protection for sexual orientation or reproductive rights. So I am more than a little stunned to hear that the California State Supreme Court has determined that the doctors' Constitutional religious freedoms do not supersede the legislative authority of the State of California. This decision has freed the case to go back to trial, limiting the defense of the doctors. All I can hope and pray is that ultimately this will end up in the US Supreme court and the California Supreme Court will be told to go pound sand.Labels: california, constitution, gay rights, religion
posted by JTC 1:47 PM
Friday, July 04, 2008
From my revolutionary hero
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
— John Adams, October 11, 1798Labels: american revolution, constitution, john adams, morality, quote, religion
posted by JTC 8:20 PM
