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Letters | BIRTH CONTROL: CONSCIENCE AND CONTROVERSY

Bishops’ push to assert doctrine is what Founders wanted to avoid

JEFF JACOBY’S “On birth control, Obama imperiously overreaches’’ (Op-ed, Feb. 15) basically argues that religious doctrine trumps government policy.

The Founding Fathers specifically sought to separate the influence of religious organizations from the practical task of running a secular government. Deeply ingrained into the psyche of our Founding Fathers was the notion that their ancestors came to this country in flight from religious persecution. Hence, the freedom of religion clause is enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution.

The current effort by Catholic bishops to assert church doctrine over government policy is precisely the threat to our Constitution that our Founders anticipated. The Obama administration has framed the issue properly. Churches are free to provide health care services to their employees as they wish. However, when a religious organization operates as a non-church institution, such as a hospital or university, in the secular world, then the Constitution takes precedence over religious doctrine even if that doctrine stems from such an eminent source as the Vatican.

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Thomas Claflin

Boston