Posted on 07/31/2015 5:57:16 AM PDT by Gamecock
Over the past couple of years the Obama administration has made it clear that when religious freedom conflicts with their political agenda, religious believers are the ones that will have to set aside their conscientious objections. And to be honest, I suspected that would be what happened more often than not.
Sure, you’d have some brave holdouts, like the owners of Hobby Lobby and the dedicated nuns of the Little Sisters of the Poor. But for the most part, I expected Christian organizations would find a way to defend a “principled compromise.” For instance, I assumed Christian colleges would be the first to cave on issues like the contraceptive-abortifacient mandate. After all, what are they going to do, stop providing health insurance for their students?
Well, yes, they will. At least that’s what Wheaton College has done:
Taking a firm stand against Obamacare’s controversial contraception mandate, Wheaton College on Friday will stop providing any health insurance for students.
The decision, announced to students July 10, will halt health care coverage for about a quarter of the college’s 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students, forcing them to shop for other plans just weeks before their coverage ends.
Health care insurance for faculty and staff is not affected.
[…]
During an information session for students last week that was streamed live online, Paul Chelsen, Wheaton’s vice president of student development, said he regretted the last-minute decision and the hardship it brings.
“What has brought us here is about student health insurance, but it’s bigger than student health insurance,” Chelsen said, according to a recording of the session obtained by the Tribune. “What really breaks my heart is that there are real people that are affected by our decision. But if we don’t win this case, the implications down the road in terms of what the government will tell us what we can and cannot do will be potentially more significant.
It is indeed regrettable that some students will be without health insurance coverage. And some students and alumni are already blaming the school. But the loss of the health insurance is the fault of the Obama administration, not the administration at Wheaton. The college has repeatedly asked for a compromise that would not require them to violate their religious beliefs—and the federal government has repeatedly refused to concede to such a reasonable request.
In a recent court ruling on Wheaton’s case, Judge Richard Posner wrote, “This is hardly a burdensome requirement.” Indeed, the Romans thought the same thing about Christians who refused to offer a small pinch of incense at the statue of Caesar. It’s such a small thing, they thought, and certainly nothing to die over. But many ancient Christians understood there is no greater burden than that which is placed upon one’s conscience. They understood that if they could not live according to their faith, then life was not worth living.
Fortunately, Christians in America do not face the same dire consequences as did the Christians in Rome. We don’t face death or torture, but merely scorn and derision. The secular world—and far too many Christians—will condemn Wheaton for not backing down. “This is hardly a burdensome requirement,” they’ll say.
But Wheaton College made the right choice. They did the hard thing, the unpopular thing, because they refuse to compromise on what the school stands for. For their boldness they deserve the praise and admiration of those of us who still believe that we answer to a higher authority than the federal government.
They’re lucky that as Christians we are not likely to take a page from Islam and start shooting the b@$t@rd$!
Most of those kids will be picked up on their parents policies because of Obamacare. Funny thing. If other states were allowed to compete, students would have other plans to choose from.
I guess pro-choice really is a selective term.
Good for them, the health care was just an extra to encourage enrollment in the first place.
Good for them! The depraved government was trying to force them to go against their conscience, and they just removed the leverage. There’s a lesson there for all Christian organizations for how to defeat governmental depravity.
They should also get out front and repeatedly declare that governmental depravity is the reason they’re forced to do this.
The students are on their parents insurance until they're 26.
It's highly unlikely that most will be without insurance. Maybe a few, but isn't that what Obamacare is supposed to be about?
It gives them a good opportunity to trust God to protect them while they are in college anyway.
Outstanding school living up to their high standards. God Bless them!
Doesn't the coverage for the faculty and staff have the same birth control mandate?
A lot of Christians have opted out of govt mandated insurance that includes subsidizing abortion and birth control by becoming members of Christian Healthcare Co-Ops. If a Christian works at a company that provides health insurance at the very least they should talk to their employer about offering this as well.
It's time to separate ourselves from the filth.
I don’t know the details. Wheaton is in Illinois, and I think Illinois has a state obamacare exchange, not that that matters anymore after John Roberts’ latest decision.
So, the effect of Wheaton’s not having insurance is to have the students go to an obamacare exchange or to a parental plan which must meet obamacare specifications or to a private plan...again which must meet obamacare specs, iirc.
I think the only way around the obamacare specs are the faith-funded type policies, but I think even those are receiving obstruction from the government.
One that is not controlled yet by the government is Medi-Share (http://christianpf.com/christian-health-insurance-alternative/)
I have no interest in promoting it. I’m a military retiree.
So, it appears that Christians have just one type of alternative that doesn’t fund abortifacients.
Excellent point. Why would a college provide a medical plan to students anyway? Their purpose is to educated people, not indoctrinate kids into a form of ‘welfare’ entitlements before they even reach majority.
Their purpose is to educated people, not indoctrinate kids into a form of ‘welfare’ entitlements before they even reach majority.
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