The Contraception Flap

I feel like I should comment on this, since it's not really about contraception or religious freedom or any of the stated excuses. It's about a power grab by the Catholic bishops, in part because they've lost their grip on the laity, and in part, I suspect, a way to deflect questions about their own moral failings. (Bishop Egan retracting his apology for the child abuse cases is his diocese didn't help that at all.)

That's all I have to say on the matter -- it's politics, pure and simple, and another example of the hierarchy, who, after all, take their orders from Rome, interfering in American politics.

However, check out Andrew Rosenthal, who seems to have pretty much the same take I do:

This is not about religious freedom; it’s about women’s health. Religions have the constitutionally protected right to worship as they choose, to require that their adherents dress in a certain way, or behave in a certain way, or shun birth control (although the idea that American Catholics generally follow that rule is pretty laughable). The government has no business meddling in that. But this is an example of where religious doctrine intrudes into public policy. The First Amendment also protects civic society from domination by any particular religion.

David Atkins also has a good point:

Ignore them, and make them follow the laws the rest of us do. My minority views on capital punishment and military spending are not respected in the tax code. There's no reason to give the Bishops any more credence.

And of course, there's Digby, who lets a picture stand for a little more than a thousand words:

Sort of nails the whole context, doesn't it?