Rights

Yesterday I had the displeasure of hearing a young Catholic woman on NPR as she railed against contraception. She maintained that medical care is an entitlement (earned privilege) and "being religious" is a basic human right. Really? 

Her position is quintessentially Catholic. Not in the sense of the faith, hope and charity of the Biblical Christ. It is quintessentially part of political Roman Catholicism, rooted in the Vatican nation, a religious monarchy. Yes, for those of you who are not political scientists, the Vatican is a sovereign nation, ruled by the Pope, who has ultimate authority along the lines of the Grand Ayatollah of Iran.

I am reminded that during the height of the AIDS epidemic deaths in the United States the Pope condemned condom usage as sinful contraception. If practicing any cultural form of religion were a right in America, then Shariah Law would be a right. Involuntary female circumcision would be a right. Polygamy would be a right. Perhaps stoning would be a right. 

Medical care is not a universally guaranteed human right, as yet, in the United States. The female caller to NPR was correct there. Disease prevention is certainly not a universal human right in America. Nor is sex education a universal human right in America, even though it is a scientifically proven method of preventing poverty and premature death. However, I strongly disagree with that Catholic woman caller: It should not continue to be this way.