Mid Toil and Tribulation

a few days ago i heard a news report about a woman who had miscarried.  her doctor had prescribed a medication that would enable her to abort the fetus without having a surgical procedure that used to be required in such instances.  when she went to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription, the pharmacist refused to fill it on religious grounds, even after she explained that the fetus was no longer viable.  in addition, the pharmacist refused to pass the prescription to any other pharmacist in the pharmacy.  the woman had to contact her doctor and have another prescription sent to a different pharmacy so she could take the medication.  as she explained on the news report, she was already distressed because of the loss of her anticipated child, and the ordeal of getting the prescribed medication exacerbated her grief.

as my wife and i were discussing this situation with another couple, the husband, who had been listening with less than full attention, immediately said that he would have refused to fill the prescription just as the pharmacist had.  his wife was furious with him, because she had had a miscarriage and was forced to have a d and c.  she told her husband that he was ignorant and had never had to go through what was, for her, an experience that was difficult emotionally and physically.   she went on to say that no male should be in a position to make such a decision for a woman.  the discussion highlighted one of the great issues in our society, when governmental bodies are deciding what women can and cannot do with their own bodies.  legislatures where men are in the overwhelming majority at the state and national levels are restricting women's rights to make their own health care decisions.  the men who make up these majorities can't experience what women deal with as the bearers of children and should not be imposing their own wills on women, even based on sincerely held religious beliefs.

this is another example of what happens when religion is allowed to control the decisions made by the government, when the wall that separates church and state is knocked down.  we now have a supreme court where a majority, again a male majority, is in a position to overturn precedents which protected the rights of women and other groups in our society.  the current republican majorities in the national house and senate have already shown themselves to be ready to pass legislation that would further restrict women's rights.  the religious right sees nothing wrong with imposing its beliefs on all citizens of the usa with regard to women, the lbgtq community, ethnic minorities, and other groups that it wishes to control.  giving these zealots control of all branches of government would be a serious setback for human rights in this country, and i hope that the midterm elections will help to put the brakes on the forward momentum of those who would impose their religious beliefs on everyone.

may we embrace tolerance on a personal and national level.  may we respect the rights of all people to control their own bodies.  may love rule rather than religious zealotry.  may the freedom to practice religion not become the freedom to impose one's own religion on others.  shalom.