February 9, 2012 7:53AM

ObamaCare’s Coercive Essence

By Roger Pilon

Today POLITICO Arena asks:

Will the GOP win the birth‐​control fight?

My response:


The GOP will win the current contraceptive‐​abortifacient battle going away, because the average American understands the essence of religious freedom: government cannot force people to do things that violate their religious beliefs. The administration may try to frame this as a defense of women’s rights, but that’s pure sophistry. As I wrote yesterday, if the administration’s decision is reversed, women will still be perfectly free to use contraceptives, to seek abortions, and to do whatever else their beliefs permit. They just won’t be able to force others who object to such practices to pay for them.


There’s a bigger issue here, however. This is just the latest example of the perils of ObamaCare. When health care is thus “collectivized,” when we’re “all in this together,” we’re forced to fight for every “carve‐​out” of liberty. Those progressive Catholics who supported ObamaCare, who are now appalled by this move, should have thought of that before they worked to throw us all in the common pot. This incident is simply an early example of the many battles to come if ObamaCare survives the litigation and the elections ahead.