Florida’s Bishops Came So Close to Understanding Religious Freedom

In this edition:

• Federal Court Protects Abortion in Historic First Since Roe Fell

• Bishops Fight Florida AG on School Vaccine Exemptions

As we covered last week, we’re still celebrating the repeal of Massachusetts’s abortion ban. Despite religious right’s criticism of Governor Maura Healey, this new legislation and her leadership empower doctors and patients to make decisions that are best for their bodies and pregnancies.

This week, an abortion decision in Idaho protects people with high-risk pregnancies. In Florida, the bishops yet again lack the backbone to protect Catholic school children.

On August 14, a U.S. District Court in Idaho ruled in favor of people’s constitutional right to health-preserving abortion. This ruling is the first time since the fall of Roe v. Wade that a federal court has affirmed protections for abortion in the U.S. Constitution. Judge Lynn Winmill called the state’s ban an “outlier position that contravenes basic principles of our constitutional order.” With his decision comes a glimmer of hope, as policy experts note that this precedent could shape future laws in favor of abortion protections. The ruling also comes months before Idahoans vote on a ballot measure that would overturn one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.

The Florida bishops went head-to-head with state Attorney General James Uthmeier over religious exemptions for vaccine requirements. The bishops had not been waiving vaccine requirements for religious reasons, and the attorney general threatened to exclude Catholic schools from K-12 scholarships if they didn’t change their tune. Uthmeier argued that Catholics should be allowed to opt out of public health vaccination precautions and referenced false claims used by the religious right to try to tie vaccines to abortion.

In response, the Catholic prelates came so close to understanding why we need a separation of church and state. Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski called Uthmeier’s threat “overreach” into religious freedom, because “vaccines as presently developed and administered do not violate Church teachings.”

The bishops experienced firsthand that religious exemptions do not always guarantee religious freedom — especially with children’s access to education at stake. Interestingly, they can understand religious freedom when their beliefs and authority are questioned, yet they dismiss the beliefs and authority of pro-choice Catholics.

The Florida Coalition of Catholic Bishops ultimately complied with the attorney general’s demand to waive vaccine requirements — although begrudgingly — in the hope that the state “will respect the Catholic bishops’ constitutional rights and religious freedom.” I’m calling this spat between church and state a draw. There are no heroes here.

• Why Catholics Must Take the Lead to Rebuke MAGA in the Midterms: “Trump is a walking manifestation of the seven deadly sins, to the point that he has depicted himself as Jesus and a pope on social media.”

• Under Trump’s Supreme Court, Conservative Churches Are Getting to Write the Rules: Ian Millhiser breaks down SCOTUS decisions on religion and how the Catholic supermajority is dismantling the separation of church and state.

• The Family Physician Talking You Through Your Abortion: Abortion, Every Day welcomes Dr. April Lockley to show readers what abortion care looks like in this uncertain time.