Who Put Bosses in the Examination Room?

Since the Supreme Court ruled that businesses can choose not participate in the Affordable Care Act's birth control mandate for religious reasons, lawmakers who disagree are in an uproar. For example, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has gone as far to say we need to "...keep bosses out of the examination room." If government had not gone into the examination room first and ordered bosses to follow, employers wouldn't be there. By passing ACA, lawmakers put bosses in the examination room. If Mr. Reid really wants bosses out of to be in private healthcare lives of employees, he shouldn't be mandating what healthcare expenses employers must cover.

Not surpringly, the White House also disagrees with the ruling. White House press secretary Josh Earnest joined Reid's effort to express outrage by making outrageous statements. Earnest said the ruling "jeopardizes the health of women that are employed by these companies." Really? In what way is their health in jeopardy? Because they have to pay for their own birth control? Or horrors abstain until they can afford to do so?

Hopefully, the American people can think more deeply about these issues than some of our leaders have. The ultimate question is not about bosses in the exam room. The true question is do we want to be a nation that forces people to violate their religious convictions to legally participate in the marketplace. If that's the country we want to be, what makes the United States different from other countries that try to force their citizens to violate their religious beliefs.