Trump practices the tolerance that many liberals only preach

JUST a few months ago, liberals were adamant that President Trump was poised to exercise totalitarian power and run roughshod over citizens’ basic rights. Yet Trump has actually done the opposite by reducing government coercion in citizens’ lives.

A recent example comes from a draft rule leaked to the media. It would exempt many people and businesses from an Affordable Care Act mandate that requires employers to provide coverage not just for birth control, but also for some abortifacients, even when doing so violates an employer’s deeply held religious beliefs.

That Obama-era mandate is a perfect example of the totalitarian impulse many liberals claim to oppose. Yet many of those liberals cheered the mandate, even when it became clear this meant trying to destroy groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic organization that provides medical care to the needy.

The sisters’ charitable work sprang from their religious beliefs. So did their opposition to paying for birth control and especially to funding abortifacients.

Yet the Obama administration threatened to fine the group $70 million annually if the women did not abandon their constitutionally guaranteed right to practice their religion and instead acquiesce to the will of the government.

A court challenge ensued, and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately vacated lower court rulings against the Little Sisters of the Poor. The federal government has been ordered to find a way to accommodate the religious beliefs of the sisters and similar organizations and citizens. (The list of the latter is extensive, but it now includes several Christian universities in Oklahoma.)

The draft rules from the Trump administration represent a serious effort to achieve that goal, and do so in a way that provides the greatest freedom to citizens. Basically, the proposed rules would exempt any employer who seeks an exemption based on moral or religious grounds.

Now those on the left who claimed that Trump would be a totalitarian are upset that he isn’t acting like a totalitarian. Some groups have already threatened lawsuits.

Yet Trump’s proposed rule change, while granting broad exemptions, won’t suddenly create a world where no woman has access to birth control. Many employers already provide insurance plans that include birth control coverage, and they will continue to do so. The simple truth is that far more employers have a religious objection to participating in provision of abortifacients than coverage for birth control pills.

Also, no one is forcing women to work for the small share of employers expected to take advantage of the proposed exemption. Seriously: How many women desperately want to work for the Little Sisters of the Poor and get an abortion? The political left’s lack of common sense on this issue is glaring.

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom, and longstanding federal law (adopted with broad bipartisan support) also requires the federal government to accommodate religious beliefs as much as possible. With this exemption, Trump is doing just that.

The president’s rhetoric is often harsh. But through his actions he is practicing the tolerance many liberals only preach.