Religion & American Law

In recent months, the Obama Administration has issued a new rule to takes effect June 24 that would force pro-life Christian organizations to provide abortions to child refugees entering the US without their parents. If the organizations fail to perform the abortion or notify the government to make the arrangements themselves, then the group is no longer eligible for federal aid.

The groups whom are pro life have avidly fought this rule and claim that they will not take these measures as supporting abortions would be a fundamental undermining their faith. By refusing to comply, many of the organizations will loose their funding and subsequently “diminish their potential to serve vulnerable, innocent children who come to this country with great needs” (http://liveactionnews.org/breaking-obama-admin-tries-to-force-christian-organizations-to-participate-in-abortions/). Six out of nine refugee resettlement organizations are faith based and thus they claim that the majority of these organizations will loose their funding as they refuse to refer the abortions.  Before these rules were enacted, if a child who came to them was pregnant they would provide health care access but in a manner that was “consistent with their religious beliefs”.

The Obama administration claims that they have in fact attempted to accommodate faith based groups as they allow the faith-based organizations whom are opposed to abortions to partner with other organizations or simply refer the child to the federal government. Thus, the organizations do not actually participate in the abortions but simply outsource the child to a third party.

The faith based organizations claim that this violates the Religious Freedom Restorations Act of 1993 which states that US federal law can not “substantially burden” a person’s free exercise of religion. Is the Obama administration denying funding to faith-based groups and to favor groups that coincide with their own ideology?

In my opinion, the Obama Administration is not substantially burdening the organizations free exercise of religion. Groups that provide care for refugees should do so regardless of whether they have to relay someone to a third party or not, even if it is against their religious belief. They do not have to provide the abortion themselves, and to claim that it will “diminish their potential to serve vulnerable, innocent children” shows that these organizations are not devoted to their mission of helping the children. I would think that their religion would tell them to continue helping the children regardless of whether they had to be referred to have an abortion or not.

Another point that I found interesting that the pro-life organizations failed to bring up was about what the children wanted. Although they are typically under aged individuals, people who are victims of sexual assault have the right to choose for themself whether they would like an abortion or not regardless if their parents are no longer with them. Often, as refugees, these organizations are the only option that the children have. To not allow them even the option to have an abortion because of the organization’s religious views does not seem right to me. Instead, if the child thinks that they should have an abortion it is in their every right to have one.

A last contentious part of the rules was that the organization’s also had to begin to recognize people on the gender of their choosing and to train their staff in the complexity of LGBTQI.  This subscribes to the belief that gender is not a physical or biological trait and instead an emotional one that it chosen by each individual.  The organizations again are claiming that these rules do not protect the organizations moral objections.

This is a practice is one that is completely understandable for the Obama Administration to support. Determining gender by the rules of LGBTQI has become accepted by society and now should be accepted by the organizations regardless of their religious objections. Again, some of these organizations are the only option for child refugees, and to not identify them in the manner that they deem acceptable would be a violation of that individual’s fundamental rights.  

(Photos taken from Catholic Relief Services- an organization providing help to child refugees)