I attended a Catholic parochial school through the tenth grade. I remember a discussion led by the religious studies teacher in that final year. The topic was the potential for conflict between conscience and catechism. He began by asking us to raise our hand if we had a brother or a sister. Nearly everyone did so. He then asked those who only had one to put down their hand. More then a third did so. Next he asked everyone who had only two brothers or sisters to put down their hands. An even larger number did so. Once those who had three brothers and sisters dropped out, only a single student was left with her hand raised. She had seven brothers and sisters. It was obvious to all of us that a significant number of our parents, good Catholics who paid good money to educate their children in the Catholic school system, practiced birth control.

The hierarchy of the Church is in stark disagreement with the practice and conscience of its members on the issue of contraception. A cave to the bishops on expanding exemptions to the requirement for insurance to include birth control coverage is undemocratic. It places the power of a religious hierarchy over the will of not just a majority of the American people, but also of American Catholics. Sign the petition asking the President to stand strong with us.