-Jeffrey T. Kuhner March 8, 2012



Rush Limbaugh has been forced to deliver a humiliating
apology for epithets he used against Sandra Fluke, a liberal activist and
Georgetown law student. The apology comes as President Obama and the liberal
media desperately try to paint Ms. Fluke as a victim of conservative male
chauvinism - the latest casualty in a Republican “war on women.” According to
the Democrats’ hysteria, women are being relegated to the Dark Ages. In fact,
the opposite is true: Anti-Christian, anti-Catholic bigotry is rearing its ugly
head, and it must be stopped.

Recently, Ms. Fluke testified at a House subcommittee in
front of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The activist claimed that she and other
women face discrimination on a daily basis. The reason: Georgetown refuses to
provide free contraceptive services as part of its student health care
coverage. Ms. Fluke claimed that birth-control pills could cost female students
as much as $3,000 by the time they graduate from law school, roughly $1,000 a
year - a financially crushing burden. On behalf of “reproductive justice,” Ms.
Fluke says that this assault on women should end. Mrs. Pelosi and the feminist
lobby agree: Georgetown must comply with the new Obamacare
contraceptive mandate and provide Ms. Fluke free birth control.

Ms. Fluke, however, is wrong. There is no crushing burden
being imposed on women. Female students can go to nearby drug stores and
discounters to purchase prescription birth control medication for $10 to $20
per month - a far cry from $1,000 a year. In fact, even without insurance,
women can buy birth control pills for as little as $9 per month at a local
Target.

Moreover, Ms. Fluke acknowledges she could have gone to
numerous law schools. Yet she deliberately selected Georgetown because it is a
historic Catholic university that continues to uphold the church’s teachings on
contraception. From the outset her goal has been to overturn the university’s
policy on birth control coverage. It’s a major reason she is at Georgetown. Ms.
Fluke is not a victim; rather, she sought out this confrontation in order to
dismantle Catholic institutions. She is part of the secular left’s war on
Christianity.

The national debate on contraception is so disconnected from
reality that it would be laughable if the consequences were not so tragic. The
claim that Republicans are preventing women from access to birth control is
risible. Condoms, the morning-after pill, oral contraceptives - they can be
purchased almost anywhere (local grocery stores, pharmacies, giant retail
outlets, public bathrooms). Planned Parenthood gives them away. Nine out of 10
health plans already cover contraception and sterilization procedures. Birth
control is almost as ubiquitous as junk food. If a male law student wants to
have safe sex, then he can purchase a condom. Why should contraception be
different for women? If Ms. Fluke wants to have sex, then take the personal
responsibility to pay for it. It’s called growing up. Georgetown has the right
not to subsidize behavior it believes to be immoral and unethical.

At the core of her argument, Ms. Fluke claims that her
desire for birth control trumps the religious freedom of a Christian institution.
She is saying that having sex without getting pregnant is more important than
the conscience rights of the Catholic Church. This is progressive tyranny, a
form of liberal bigotry against Christians who abide by the teachings of their
faith. The Church believes that contraception is wrong because it leads to
sexual permissiveness, family breakdown and demographic collapse. Whether you
agree or not is irrelevant; the Church has the right to determine its
fundamental doctrine. Liberals, however, are seeking to coerce Christians into
bowing at the altar of the secular state. This is a fundamental assault on
democratic pluralism - the right of different religions to practice their
beliefs unmolested by Big Brother or fascist feminists.

As for Mr. Limbaugh, he was wrong to call Ms. Fluke nasty
names. He has rightly apologized. Women (and men) are paying a high price for
embracing the personal liberation at the heart of modern feminism. They are
being transformed into sexual objects, promoting promiscuous behavior that ends
in individual misery and spiritual emptiness for both genders. Ms. Fluke is
selling New Age snake oil.

Moreover, there are shameless hypocrites on the left. Mr.
Obama called Ms. Fluke to sympathize with her plight after she was attacked by
Mr. Limbaugh. Liberals, however, were largely silent when HBO’s Bill Maher used
much more demeaning language to smear Sarah Palin or when MSNBC’s Ed Schultz
vilified Laura Ingraham. In fact, Mr. Maher has given
about $1 million to Mr. Obama’s super PAC. The left is demanding that
advertisers drop their support for Mr. Limbaugh’s talk show; none have called
for Mr. Obama’s team to return Mr. Maher’s money. The reason for the double
standard is simple: Mrs. Palin and Ms. Ingraham are
conservative Christians. Hence, demonizing them is fair game.

Discrimination is alive and well in America - and especially
prevalent throughout the Democratic Party and among its allies. Christians are
routinely mocked. Their symbols and beliefs are denigrated. The Catholic Church’s
institutions - schools, hospitals, charities, universities - are being
persecuted. Soft totalitarianism creeps in through a liberal witch hunt
conducted against those who dissent from the secular credo. Christians and
every American should beware: Big Brother is on the march and will soon be
knocking on your door.

-Jeffrey T. Kuhner is a columnist at The Washington Times
and president of the Edmund Burke Institute.http://www.jeffkuhner.com/?page=Articles