HHS mandate a concern

Dear Editor:

The Federal Health & Human Services (HHS) mandate concerning contraception has entered the primary election process and by all indications will have an impact on the final outcome. The required inclusion of birth control in health care plans conflicts seriously with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, and a Catholic candidate, Rick Santorum, is being ostracized by the secularist media for adhering to his Catholic beliefs.

The argument put forth by most who favor the HHS mandate seems to center around a woman’s right to choose. Although we have free choice, the church teaches that there are right and wrong choices, and it encourages us to choose the right path and avoid the wrong choices.

The birth control mandate requires the Catholic Church to go against its belief and the church cannot do that.

If the HHS continues to insist upon its mandate, the church will have no choice but to shut down its universities, schools, hospitals and charities. Such action will impact everyone, not just Catholics, and I urge everyone to write your representatives and ask that this mandate be rescinded.

Dick Byrne
Berkeley Springs