Column - The president is not attacking religious freedom

Leave it to the GOP and religious conservatives to inhibit efficient health care reform.

In recent weeks, President Barack Obama announced his plan requiring religious affiliated employers to provide full contraceptive coverage to women.

The issue has conservatives in an uproar, claiming that the president is violating the First Amendment by attacking religious freedom.

It is not an act against religion; it is an act for women's health.

In today's society, women should have access to all forms of contraceptives. Without them, the rate of unwanted pregnancies and abortions would likely increase. Being able to plan a pregnancy helps households prepare for family life.

Conservatives are blowing this way out of proportion. Not all of them think it's limiting religious freedom; some are using this solely to attack the president.

Governor Mitt Romney, a GOP presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts governor, accused Obama of "an attack on religion." But Romney comes off as a hypocrite because a similar mandate is already in effect in his own state.

Throughout Obama's presidency, Republicans haven't shown any interest in viable solutions to health care, education or anything much other than making the president look bad.

This mandate doesn't infringe on anyone's religious freedoms for a couple of reasons.

For one, the mandate doesn't force anyone to use contraceptives. If that were the case, then conservatives would have an argument, but they don't.

Another reason is that employers wouldn't have to pay for the contraceptives because the mandate states that insurance companies would have to supply them at no cost.

It seems to me the only ones who are pushing religious agendas are the right-wing conservatives. They don't want their employees taking part in something they find immoral, which is an attack on the employees' religious freedoms, not the employers'.

It's ridiculous.

What conservatives must realize (even though they never will) is that true religious freedom means having the right not to practice religion.

The common message conservative America preaches is you should have freedom of religion, just as long as you're Christian.

Want to build a mosque? You don't have the right.

You don't want to go to any church? You don't have any moral value.

The answers to these questions obviously go against core American values, but are the messages that the religious right spreads.

Since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it has always been the Republican way to suppress equal rights for minorities, women, and homosexuals, and to push religious agendas.

Our Constitution clearly separates church and state. But try to run for an elected office as a non-Christian, and it will turn into a weapon for your opponents.

The argument against the president's mandate is a clear attempt to push religious beliefs on others.

Some of the mandates opponents claim it forces employers to provide for something in which they don't believe. Which may be true, but the same argument could go for many things employers don't wish to provide for employees, such as a safe workplace, health care and other benefits.

Employers should not have the right to determine what employees consider right or wrong, especially when it comes to health care.

It doesn't matter what the president wants to do for the country; the GOP will do its best to vilify him. Regardless of what conservative pundits say, Obama became the captain of a sinking ship and has kept it afloat.

The mandate should be passed to protect the rights of workers who could benefit greatly from it.

The use of contraceptives may be a religious concern for Catholics and conservatives, but it is a health concern for many more.