Stephanie N.

Price
Professor Connie Douglas
English 112
6 September 2014
Religious Freedom of Employers
Does legally mandated birth control violate an employers religious liberty? The reader
was presented with two articles supporting opposing sides of this debate. Both articles were
written in response to Affordable Care Act passed by president Obama. The debate is centered
on whether or not it is ethical to mandate companies to pay for birth control, even if it goes
against the owners beliefs. One article was written by Alan Sears who is president and chief
executive officer over the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom which promotes
Christian values. Alan Searss intended audience was uninformed college students who were
neutral or already leaning towards his point of view on the subject. Alan Searss purpose was to
convince his audience that legally mandated birth control violates our religious freedoms. The
second article the audience was presented with was written by Barry W. Lynn who is the
executive director of Americans United for separation of church and state. Lynns purpose was
to convince the audience that it does not violate the religious freedoms of the employers to
provide coverage for birth control. Lynns intended audience was the working class who he sees
as already having an attitude of being against the heads of their companies.
Lynn did the best job writing his article and achieving his purpose. Lynn explains why it
would be bad all around if employers could dictate coverage employees can receive based on
their beliefs. Lynn proves his point by appealing to the audiences reason. Lynn makes many
good points that might not have been considered before. For example he points out the fact that

some women use birth control not as a way to limit births but also as a way to treat
mediconditions such as Endometriosis. Lynn says religious freedom is not a license to meddle
in other peoples health issues (Lynn). Lynn also addresses his opposition by calling them ultra
conservative religious leaders (Lynn) saying that they are not happy with what they already
have; which is the fact that churches and other religious institutes are exempt from the mandate.
Overall this article was well written because it flowed well and was organized.
The opposing article written by Alan Sears says that forcing employers to provide birth
control coverage violates employers religious liberty. Searss article was mostly targeted
towards religious Americans. Some of the topics Sears covered might offend some readers who
do not believe the same as he does. For example he tells a story about an incident that falls along
the same lines as what is happening except that it happened when a Christian photographer
refused to photograph a homosexual couple. Sears was strong in the organization of his article
and supported his points with strong examples such as Bill Newland, the president of Hercules
industries who will either have to act contrary to his religious beliefs or pay high fines that could
end his business. Overall Searss article was well written but his intentions where not fulfilled as
well as Lynns.
In conclusion both articles where well written but it was Lynns article that succeeded in
fulfilling his goals. He does this by appealing to the audiences sense of reason and by giving
strong examples. The articles show that todays society has a reached the point where they need
to decide if religion has a role in America anymore and if it does how is it defined?

Works cited
Lynn, Barry W. "Legally Mandated Birth Control Coverage Does Not Violate Employers'
Religious Liberty." Religious Liberty. Ed. Carol Ullmann and Lynn M. Zott. Farmington
Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "The Courts, Birth
Control and Phony Claims of 'Religious Liberty,&#x0027." On Faith: Washington Post
Blog 23 May 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.

Sears, Alan. "Legally Mandated Birth Control Coverage Violates Employers' Religious Liberty."
Religious Liberty. Ed. Carol Ullmann and Lynn M. Zott. Farmington Hills, MI:
Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Religious Freedom vs.
Totalitarianism." National Catholic Register 18 Mar. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.