Obama says one thing and does another

The Iowa Supreme Court recently upheld the right of a Mennonite teen's religious edict to travel on Iowa highways using only steel-wheeled vehicles. The court ruled that a Mitchell County ban violated his freedom of religion.

Last week, the Obama administration told the Catholic Church to pay for contraceptive and abortion drugs in its schools, hospitals and other institutions with employment open to the public (Editor's note: The Obama administration later modified the order to require the insurance company, not the employer, to provide free contraception in its coverage). This same administration requires these institutions to remove all religious symbols before they can be considered as secular services to dispense government welfare funding.

Clearly, two different criteria are being applied. Evidently, the administration believes the First Amendment cites a freedom from religion.

While lobbying to pass the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama promised that religious organizations would be able to make a conscience exception. By now invoking such a narrow interpretation, Obama joins other notable presidents with their proclamations such as “I am not a crook” and “I did not have sex with that woman.”

Juergen Bruckner

Cedar Rapids