The Supreme Court’s recent ruling letting employers cut birth control coverage due to religious reasons was very controversial. Although there is no clause in the First Amendment prohibiting religion from being brought into government, it is unfair to let it be brought into major decisions. The First Amendment also states that citizens have the freedom to practice any or no religion. By making this ruling on birth control, the Supreme Court is disregarding Americans that practice no religion or a different religion than their employer. With religion being less influential in politics, it gives more types of people power and a chance to feel heard.

For me [Naiya], as a Christian, it is hard to come up with a concise answer when asked: what is Christianity? Growing up, I have always focused on the spiritual aspect of Christianity, rather than submitting to every line of a translated book or even adhering solely to one political party; therefore, it is not my religion behind any vote I cast, but my genuine wish that everyone will be free to live their own life even if it looks different from mine. Even if you disagree with women’s healthcare rights such as abortion and birth control, I encourage everyone to vote selflessly, and not vote for the government to make laws confining others to your individual beliefs. In attempts to put a very un-simple topic simply, this all comes down to a matter of advocating for oneself and one’s personal opinions or advocating for everyone to bask in the freedom and control over their own body, which should never be just a privilege, but a right.

Religion has never been a huge part of my [Ava’s] life. While most of my friends were getting confirmed through the Lutheran Church , I wasn’t. One of them asked me why and I tried to answer, but truthfully, I wasn’t sure. I felt like none of my opinions aligned with the views of the church I had attended and tying myself to an institution that supported beliefs completely opposite of mine didn’t sit right with me. Freedom of religion means that I have the choice to practice religion or not. When Church and State mix, I feel like my choice to not practice religion has no meaning at all. It’s extremely upsetting that decisions which affect my health are being made under the values of one religion and one religion only.

The freedom that this country is so proud to have should be equal for everyone inside of it. While this includes freedom of religion, some way or another, religion should not be so influential in the government in order to help everyone feel heard and validated. A person’s personal choices all come from an underlying cause, and one can never know everything someone else is going through or every reason behind their decisions, thus leaving the only option to show them love and grace even if their beliefs are different because everyone has had different experiences shape their current beliefs. When government is able to put more actions toward giving everyone equal rights, attention and freedom, women’s health care will be considered a necessity to all. Until then, all we can do is love each other and vote for the good of all living things, even if it means voting outside of what you would vote for if you were the only one affected.