Friday, April 5, 2013
Here is a comment I posted at regulations.gov aimed at addressing the Affordable Care Act, and specifically, the HHS mandate:
I am a woman.
I am a proud American.
My body is a sacred gift, and I did not make it myself. I wake up every morning amazed by the mere fact of my existence.
Since my body is given to me by someone other than me, and because it is made so well, so beautifully, so carefully, I cannot but see it was made by someone who loves me.
If someone loves me so much that I exist, what would be most reasonable way for me to treat my body? What would be the most reasonable way for all women and men to look at our bodies? Our bodies are sacred, holy vessels that have been made for a specific purpose.
Taking birth control and abortifacient drugs for the intention of preventing pregnancy is an action that says, "I create my body. I am not open to that mysterious one who breathes life into me, because I am not interested in conceiving a child, though I am interested in having sex when I desire it." We did not create our bodies. We are not the ones who create children, but we participate in their creation through the sexual act. To prevent pregancy, one must prevent the sexual act. Any other means of preventing pregnancy while still engaging in sex is purely nonsense; it would be like sitting down to eat a dinner with one's family, and then forcing oneself to throw up after eating. Using birth control to prevent pregnancy is like climbing a mountain and standing in sight of a breathtaking view of the range, but shielding one's eyes while on the summit. It simply does't make sense. I reassert: to avoid pregnancy, we must educate people to the meaning of the sexual act, not only emotionally for the couple, but also as an act that participates in the creation of an individual, new human being.
To force organizations to provide abortifacient drugs and contraceptives is to force them to sit at the dinner table and to say, "go on, throw up! This food won't satisfy," or at the mountain's summit, "don't look, the mountain is not so beautiful. Close your eyes!"
