OPINION:
Sometimes, to better understand the points being made in a discussion, I find it helpful to apply the points under discussion to a different but parallel situation (“Religious colleges join fight over contraceptives,” Page 1, Monday). This often enables me to better apply common sense or the “smell test” to the points being considered.
Here is my attempt to do that in this case: The pro-contraception-mandate argument goes something like this: Access to contraception is a woman’s health issue. Therefore, it is a right and should be provided at no cost to individuals.
Suppose that rationale were applied to food. Certainly access to food is the most fundamental health issue there is, and it applies to everyone. Therefore, access to food is a right and should be provided at no cost to individuals. Right?
Wrong. That just doesn’t pass my smell test and neither does the pro-contraception-mandate argument.
DANIEL P. MCKIM
Springfield, Va.
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