GAY AND LESBIAN ATHEISTS AND HUMANISTS
The Freethought Alternative
P.O. Box 34635, Washington, DC 20043-4635
www.galah.org

Roman Catholic Church Asked to Stop Discriminating Against Female and Non-Catholic Employees

September 9, 2000
Contact person: Tom Klem
tomonroad@yahoo.com
www.galah.org

Washington, DC - Gay and Lesbian Atheists and Humanists (GALAH) is asking the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) to stop discriminating against non-Catholic and female employees of its hospitals, universities, and other businesses throughout the United States by failing to cover contraceptives in employee health insurance policies.

The Roman Catholic hierarchy should realize that it has no business trying to impose its religious views on employees who do not share them. Employees have every right to expect medical benefits that meet their needs, rather than passing an employer's ideological litmus test.

The RCC has tried to justify its denial of these important healthcare benefits on the grounds that it would violate their religious beliefs. This claim makes no sense. "No one is forcing the clergy or lay Catholics to use contraception," explained GALAH Vice-Chair Tom Klem. "The Roman Catholic Church should not try to exploit its position as an employer to try to push its views against birth control on non-Catholics. They need to learn to respect the views of people whose outlooks on religion differ from that of the Catholic hierarchy."

Another important issue at stake is women's rights. Denial of contraceptive benefits is an unfortunate kind of sex discrimination. Women face the consequence of pregnancy, which men do not, yet medical services to give them more control over their own bodies are often denied. Contraceptive benefits are an important step towards real equality for women.

The need for the Roman Catholic Church to stop discriminating against non-Catholic employees in this area becomes increasingly clear as the RCC continues to merge Catholic hospitals with formerly secular ones. Often, not only do employees lose these important medical benefits, but non-Catholic patients often lose the ability to obtain contraceptive services at hospitals where such services previously were available.

The efforts of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to impose its religious beliefs on non-Catholic employees is part of a broader problem. Some landlords are trying to impose their religious beliefs on tenants and prospective tenants, especially in regards to unmarried and same-sex couples. When such discriminatory behavior violates state laws, some landlords have tried to claim that renting to unmarried couples would violate the landlords' religious beliefs. This is not possible. Landlords' religious beliefs are only applicable to themselves and their own behavior. Efforts by landlords to impose their religious views on tenants and prospective tenants violate the freedom of conscience on religion of renters.

"We as a society need to understand the dangers of efforts by people to impose their religions on those whom they have economic power," Klem said. "In a free society, people live according to their own views of religion rather than having them imposed by others."

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