Once upon a time there was a simple, law-abiding man named Bob. He had a wife and two children, and he worked to provide for them. Bob took his family to church on Sunday, and tried to live right during the week, too.
One Saturday as Bob was watering his lawn, a man in a suit carrying a briefcase stopped at his front gate. Bob looked up. He recognized the man.
“Hey Bill, what’s up?” Bob called out in a friendly voice.
“Nothing much,” Bill replied. “I am taking up a collection, though, and knew you would contribute.”
Bob winced a bit. Money was tight during the recession and all. But he was a generous man. “What are we doing with the money?” he asked.
“Well,” Bill replied, “the Fair City fathers have decided to…” He hesitated, then continued: “well, they’ve decided, let’s just say…um…to dispose of unwanted baby puppies. They need to raise funds to cover the costs of the, ah, [cough] the ‘clinic’ that does the, um…drowning.”
Bob frowned. He looked into Bill’s eyes. Bill seemed to be serious, or was making a very good go of keeping a straight face…if this was some kind of sick joke. After a full 30 seconds, Bill was holding his own. Bob broke the silence:
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I’m not. Its called the PDF…puppy drowning fund.”
Silence.
Bob: “I think you know me well enough to know I’m not going to support something like that.”
Bill: “Look, Bob, I know it doesn’t sound very nice. But there are a lot of unwanted puppies in the community, and someone has to deal with it. With the proper facilities, sterile environment, trained professionals, paperwork and all, it averages a few hundred dollars for each drowning. But it saves everyone money and headache in the long run.”
Bob: “I don’t have any unwanted puppies and if someone needs to find a home for one, I will be glad to help. But I’m not going to give you money to pay someone to drown them! That’s awful, and I have to say, I’m offended that you even asked.”
Bill: “Man, chill out! Nobody has to drown any puppies. I mean, no one is forced to drown them or anything. It’s only those who choose to do it.”
Bob: “Chill out! Chill out?! Duh, of course no one has to drown puppies. Like me. I don't and won't. But anyone who wants to can spend their own money to do it! I’m not going to donate to the cause. Good-bye.”
Bill didn’t move. “Look. I don’t really like it any more than you do, OK. I’m just the messenger. Well, you might say the collector. It’s my job, man.”
Bob wrinkled his nose with a confused expression on his face. “I know you work for Fair City, and you work hard and all of that. But I thought you said this was a collection, like taking donations or something.”
“No, it’s not really like that. I mean, it’s not donations. The PDF is mandatory. Everybody has to pitch in. Five bucks…” Bill’s voice trailed off. He looked rather pitiful, but he wasn’t budging.
“You and I have been friends for years,” Bob retorted. “But I’m not getting you. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying it’s the law, Bob,” Bill whined. “The Fair City fathers passed an ordinance forming the PDF. People need more access to puppy drowning services, so they can make their own choice about whether to keep the puppies or not. Every family has to kick in. They think it will only be five bucks, so that’s all you have to…pay. Per month. We hope.”
“You’re saying I have to pay for drowning puppies? That I have to pay for other people who didn’t keep their dogs at home to drown the results? Why don’t they pay for their own puppy-drowning? Bill,” Bob sighed, “I have a conscience on this. I would never drown my puppies. Why should I pay to drown someone else’ puppies?”
“Some people can’t afford it. The only way they can exercise their right to kill their puppies is for everyone to share the cost. I mean, you aren’t choosing to kill any puppies, Bill. It’s their choice, not yours.” Bill hoped Bob would just let it go, and get this over with.
Bob looked at his shoes. Then at Bill. “Do you know where puppies come from, Bill? Of course you do. Everybody knows that when you let your dog run around, out of control, somebody is gonna end up with puppies. So all you have to do is keep your dog on a leash, and if you don’t, you should bear your own consequences. Raise the puppies. Give them to someone who wants a puppy. But if you insist on drowning your puppies, pay for it yourself!”
“I know that sounds logical. But some people just don’t think. And drowning your puppies is legal. How can they do it if they can’t afford to?” Bill was starting to sweat.
Bob looked back at Bill. “They don’t have puppies if they don’t want puppies. It’s simple as that.”
Bill: “I thought you might object. Honestly, so I asked what I should say if you do.”
Bob: “Are you saying there any way around this?”
“Well, for people who object, the Mayor says you don’t have to pay for any puppy drownings. You only have to contribute to the PDF and the PDF pays for the drowning.” Bill smiled weakly.
Bob: “First I thought you were making a bad joke. Then I thought you were just involved in a lame charity. Next it seemed you were just a public employee doing a macabre job. But now I know you are insulting my intelligence. Go away.”
“I can’t do that, Bob. I have a copy of the ordinance right here in my briefcase. Well, actually, the ordinance is almost 3,000 pages long, and the regulations to enforce it are a lot longer. So all I could carry is the part of the ordinance that deals with the puppy drowning mandate.” Bill was squirming uncomfortably. “Give me your share of the money for the PDF.”
“I’m not doing it.” Bob looked Bill straight in the eye. “I can’t do it. I can’t go against my conscience and help pay for people to drown puppies.”
“Bob, if you don’t pay, you’ll go to jail.”
“Do what you have to do, I guess.” Bob turned his back and walked toward the house.
The Moral
If everyone has to contribute to the pot—has to pay premiums to insurance companies that are required by law to include contraception and/or abortions as a covered benefit—we are all helping to pay for the contraception and/or abortions.
Abortions are the result of careless living. And if careless living is subsidized, there will be more careless living. And if the consequences of careless living are not born by the person making the careless choices, more careless choices will be made.
We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to be free to live in accordance with our religious beliefs. This mandate is a clear violation of that explicit constitutional right. While the battle over whether women have a “right” to kill their unborn children seems to have been lost, this mandate in ObamaCare that all insurance policies provide coverage for abortion services, coupled with a mandate that all employers provide the health insurance, coupled with a mandate that all people buy health insurance if not covered by an employer plan, means we are all being forced by law to help pay for abortions.
Never before has a civil right included the right to have the general public pay for your exercise of the right. If that doesn’t make sense, think of it this way: Does the right to freedom of the press require the public to pay for my press, ink and paper? Does the right to freedom of speech require that the public create a platform for me to speak from? Does my right to exercise my religion require the public to build me a church? Does the right to bear arms require the government to provide me a free gun? No, no, no and no…even though those rights are explicitly stated in the constitution, unlike the manufactured “right” to an abortion.
But now this “right” to abort your child is being turned into a requirement that everyone else cover the cost of that abortion for you. These are dangerous times, my friend.
It was well summarized in The Patriot Post: “[T]hroughout history a "right" has always been defined as a freedom to act, along with a corresponding duty of forbearance from others who would interfere with that act…a right has never been viewed by any within the "sane" sector of the legal community as a positive conveyance. That is, the notion that a person has a "right" in the form of a demand on someone else to provide contraceptives, free abortions or any other form of "health care" is ludicrous.” (http://patriotpost.us/edition/2012/02/10/digest/ )
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