The Joy of Ethics

Much as I appreciate President Obama's accomplishments these past three years, there are times when this Administration stumbles over its own feet.  A prime example is the current flap over Health and Human Services' new contraception rule.  As a retired constitutional law professor, the President should have seen this one coming and turned it into (pardon a hackneyed expression) "a teachable moment."

What we have here are two competing values — religious freedom, on the one hand, and women's rights, on the other.  The Catholic Church is ethically opposed to contraception, while most women want unfettered access to health care services.  Both values carry a high emotional and political charge.  In light of the new HHS rule, Prof. Obama's response should have been delight — yes, delight — that we Americans have an opportunity to address and resolve an ethical issue which is important to our common life and, unlike many ethical conundrums, relatively straightforward.

Now what?  I suspect that few people will refuse an invitation to lunch at the White House.  Why not invite a small but representative group to lunch and ask them to work out a solution?  That group could include a couple Roman Catholic bishops, non-Catholic clergy, medical ethicists, experts in women's health care, someone from the insurance industry, and HHS bureaucrats.  Prof. Obama should ask these stakeholders for help in crafting an acceptable resolution.

In this political year, lots of people are headed for the barricades over this issue.  There's not much anyone can do about that.  Let them wave their banners.  But the President can use this situation to underscore the importance of ethics in our common life.  With Congress now (grudgingly, belatedly) legislating against insider trading by its own members, attention to practical ethics is much needed.

Sunset over Lake Esau on Saturday.

This afternoon I got a call from "Unknown Caller" whose phone number was not displayed but who was clearly part of an off-shore call center.  She identified herself as Wilma (or William) and announced that there was a problem with my computer.  "If you'll go to your computer, I can show you what the problem is."  The scam was obvious.  But how many unsuspecting people gave up all their personal information to this helpful ID thief? •••