Bishop Compares Covering Birth Control At Catholic Institution To Serving Pork At A Jewish Deli

[RandySF]

During House Oversight's contentious hearing on the administration's contraception rule, witness Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, CT dedicated his entire opening remarks to an analogy comparing the idea that women at religious organizations have a right to contraceptive coverage to the right of someone to order a ham sandwich from a Jewish deli. The detailed analogy can be found in full in his opening statement.

"For my testimony today, I would like to tell a story. Let’s call it, 'The Parable of the Kosher Deli,'" Lori began. "Once upon a time, a new law is proposed, so that any business that serves food must serve pork. There is a narrow exception…but kosher delicatessens are still subject to the mandate." When Jewish deli owners object, says Lori, people respond that pork is good for you and that lots of Jews eat pork anyway. The analogy went on to discuss a hypothetical 'accommodation' that is not sufficient.

Finally, Lori said concluded his story:

This story has a happy ending. The government recognized that it is absurd for someone to come into a kosher deli and demand a ham sandwich; that it is beyond absurd for that private demand to be backed with the coercive power of the state; that it is downright surreal to apply this coercive power when the customer can get the same sandwich cheaply, or even free, just a few doors down.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/bishop-compares-right-to-birth-control-at-catholic

[Ian David]

1. He wants your boss to be able to forbid you to eat pork in your own home after work. n/t

[RainDog]

2. thank you n/t

[socialindependocrat]

3. Then gentiles would shop at the Jewish Deli, wouldn't they?

But because Jewish Deli's don't serve non-Kosher foods
they don't provide for the needs of the non-Jewish community.

Insurance companies need to provide FULL health care.

[Johonny]

25. They do

The ones I go to sell dairy products and meat products and you can buy both together and eat them and no one gives a * if you do. Heck most of the employees aren't Jewish either at the deli.

[onehandle]

4. I bet Jewish delis would serve a damn fine ham sandwich.

Ham. Sigh. I miss ham.

Mmm... Honey Baked Ham.

This Pescatarian will be having Tuna tonight.

[wandy]

13. Hay. I'll give you this. You have caught the old moose flatfooted.

Please; no disrespect here, no need for the sarcasm tag but...
What the heck is a Pescatarian?
What's wrong with ham. Or Tuna for that matter.
I don't know about 'ham' sandwiches, but haveing spent an 18 month stay in NYC; delies; jewish or otherwise were wonderfull things.

[onehandle]

15. Pescatarian: Vegetarian + Fish and other Seafood.

My diet is mostly Mediterranean and Asian based.

No beef, no fowl, no ham.

[wandy]

24. Oh. Thank you. Veggies, fish, seafood; I could do that. Although..

I might toss a bit of cow in as a seasoning. Age changes you. The people I worked for would, on ocasion, send me anywhere.
Places that said if you can devoure a 32 oz stake you would eat free were going to operate at a loss if I were in town. Now; not so much. Asian? Why do I think that you find as much joy in turning the kitchen into an unholey mess during the prepariation as actually sitting down to a meal. House rule; I cook you clean.

[Angry Dragon]

5. So the Catholic Church says health care is no more important

as a ham sandwich
This Lori guy seems well versed on fairy tales ........ many years of practice

[truebrit71]

6. So an unmarried, male virgin thinks he is an expert on female contraception?

May I suggest you stick to things you know like molesting thousands of children and then lying about it?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Let's take this a step further:

Let's say I'm a nurse at a Catholic hospital. I'm not Catholic, but I work there because it's a good hospital and I need a job. Of course they pay me for my work. But the health insurance doesn't cover contraception, so I pay for my pills myself because I need them.

Therefore: Isn't the Catholic Church subsidizing my evil birth control practices by paying me a salary that enables me to purchase birth control drugs? It's already been established that religious organizations can't discriminate in hiring on religious grounds where the job isn't related to the religion (that is, while a Catholic church could, for example, refuse to hire non-Catholics to be nuns, a Catholic hospital can't refuse to hire non-Catholic medical staff on the basis of the employee's religion). So can they cut my salary by the amount I spend on birth control every month just because I'm not Catholic and use birth control? I don't think so. But how do they get around the fact that their employees are using the money they get from the Church to buy birth control pills and devices?

I'd like somebody to ask the bishops that question.

[hifiguy]

10. There's some arch-reichwing theologian who argues that very thing.

Sullivan was carving the guy up like a Thanksgiving turkey over on The Dish today.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Why am I not surprised?

I'll have to look up the Sullivan discussion.

The lunacy never ends, does it?

[hifiguy]

12. Nope. Thomas Paine nailed the problem a long time ago:

"Arguing with one who has abandoned reason is like administering medicine to the dead."

[hifiguy]

8. No, what it's like is saying that the owner of the deli can tell

his Presbyterian counter guy not to eat pork at home and make the edict stick with the force of law.

This analogy is so bad it is laughable.

Edit to add: anyone who can make this argument with a straight face would lose a debate with a ham sandwich.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

9. Another point being missed, nobody is forcing anyone to use contraception.

Just cover it, if wanted.

[Warpy]

14. Not quite, buster

It's more like having an employee at a Jewish deli go out for lunch and eat pulled pork.

The deli owner and many of the customers might have a phobia about touching pork but the employee is free to do what he wishes.

[unblock]

16. great example because jews have NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER with other people eating pork.

moreover, if a customer somehow had an MEDICAL PRESCRIPTION for pork, it would even be considered a mitzvah to help feed that person his medically necessary pork.

[mmonk]

17. More like a Jewish employee of a Catholic owned restaurant forced

to eat a ham sandwich on break (what the Bishop wants).

[saras]

18. Jewish-owned grocery store chains sell pork, no problem

No one is asking to get abortions in the confession booth.

[tabasco]

19. Funny guy.

I compare his religion to that of the ancient Greeks, who believed Zeus and his family ruled the universe.

[FarCenter]

21. Catholics use contraception and Jews eat pork

Get real.

[JitterbugPerfume]

22. Hey Bishop!

Pork YOU!!

[Bad_Ronald]

23. The Carnegie Deli sells ham, sausage & bacon.

Then again, they've been more tourist attraction than kosher deli since before the purple gang broke up.