Let me get political for a second...

I really think that it's important for everyone to be politically in tune, because even though they seem boring, politics are a constant in our lives and will always affect us, whether we realize it or not. So I have chosen a case that was reviewed during the Supreme Court term preview to discuss.

            The topic from the Supreme Court term preview that I am choosing to discuss is the one regarding contraceptives. This case, and many similar cases going on around the country, concern a new healthcare law that deals with contraceptives. The healthcare law requires insurance plans to cover birth control. However, the issue has been raised that for-profit companies should be exempt from the law on the basis that providing contraceptives is against their religious views.

            The issues of this case are endless, the main issue being the power of religion within the government. Allowing these companies to be exempt from the law not only gives a lot of power to religion, but it gives religion power over government. If this were to be allowed, then it could be used as precedent for any act passed in the future that could be a threat to religious beliefs, therefore allowing religion to cheat the system. However, if the government doesn’t allow it, then that act will be seen as discrimination against religion. There is also the issue of federal laws being contradictory towards each other. The health care law says that contraceptives must be provided, but the Free Exercise Act protects individual’s ability to practice religion. In lower court cases, federal law overrules state law, but this issue is hard to sort out because it involves two federal laws that seem to be in disagreement.

            This case is important to know because regardless of the fact that the entire population does not use contraceptives, it deals with concepts that are an essential part of our nation’s values. The separation is common knowledge to citizens of the United States, as is the first amendment of the Constitution which allows for the practice of religion. These are things we don’t often question because we grow up with the knowledge that they are concrete and unchallenged, yet this case is directly challenging them. This conflict between church and state has been a hot topic recently; first with the Evolution versus Creation debate that aired a few weeks ago which discussed the teaching of both theologies in public schools, and now with the Arizona law debate which involves the Arizona legislature attempting to pass a law allowing private companies to refuse service to gay citizens. The issue with these cases and the contraception case is directly related to the separation of church and state, and issue that though it is core to America’s history, is still being debated today.