Friday rally cites health care illegalities

To the editor:

There will be a very important rally in Central Park this Friday at noon and everyone is invited to come.

This is an opportunity to stand with Americans all across our great nation as we join with people in over 140 American cities. These rallies are in support of religious freedom and are necessary because our President and his administration are overstepping their legal bounds as spelled out in our Constitution and the First Amendment. This administration is using the Health Care Bill (Obamacare) to infringe upon religious liberty by trying to force church schools, hospitals, and charities to provide free birth controll pills, sterilizations, and abortions. This will force these health care providers to act against their own beliefs and consciences which is totally unacceptable.

Yes, the bill provides for exemptions, but this is how a granted exemption works: A church must agree to only serve its own members and no one outside of that church. The church would not be able to hire anyone outside of its membership to work for it. A church could not, legally, serve anyone outside its membership by offering human services such as providing health care, food, or clothes, etc. to the needy. Would you trust the federal government to give your church an exemption?

Even though the Catholic Church is one of the largest health care providers in this country, providing care for thousands of people, this is not just a Catholic issue by any means. This is the start of a very slippery slope for all.

This is the way Christians are treated in Muslim countries. There, some Christians are allowed to worship but are not allowed to talk about their faith outside of their place of worship nor serve and help others. This is not freedom of religion!

If the health care bill regulations go into effect, many religious hospitals and social service entities will simply not be allowed to offer their many services unless they have an exemption or will be forced to add these mandated services which would betray their beliefs and consciences. In that case they have stated they will have to cease providing any health care.

We did not elect our officials to determine which organizations are truly religious and which are not. It is simply very wrong for this administration to force religious organizations to serve primarily only those who share its religious tenets or capitulate to their rules. Christ helped many people without first demanding a confession of faith. And Christians have followed His example for two thousand years. Christians have been called to minister to ALL people, regardless of faith beliefs. and this has greatly enriched our country in the process.

Many have died to uphold our freedoms, the least we can do is stand up to show our Iowa motto, ?Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain? is just not words on a flag. If you cherish your freedoms, please join the rally this Friday and be strong and stand up for what is truly a constitutional right.