Editor,
On Wednesday a letter was printed from a student who agreed with Rush Limbaugh that Sandra Fluke’s call for Georgetown University to pay for contraceptives is unconstitutional — a violation of the separation between church and state.
I applaud any student taking a stand, but the facts are muddied here. This is not a religious freedom issue. Georgetown, a Catholic institution, covers contraceptives for faculty but not for students — that renders the morality and religious freedom issues moot.
Secondly, the Catholic church clearly states that any use of contraceptives is morally wrong, yet more than 90 percent of Catholic families admit that they use contraceptives and continue to receive communion and consider themselves practicing Catholics.
The student writer refers to contraceptive use other than for medical reasons as “recreational.” All contraceptive use is medical- and health-related. The successful use of contraceptives is one of the best strategies to avoid unplanned pregnancies and abortions — whether by a college student or a long-term married couple.
Furthermore, raising the issue of the church’s belief in “natural law” is crazy. The church and some politicians believe that intercourse is strictly for the purpose of procreation. Fine if you believe that — but don’t try to impose it on the rest of us.
Charlie O’Dowd
Adjunct professor
