News

Image

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 18, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – The political mudslinging over the Obama administration’s HHS birth control mandate has sometimes made it difficult for the public to find out the truth about what the federal rule really does, and who it will affect.

But a new 16-second video from the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis is seeking to cut through the fog of war with a very simple, straight-forward message.

The ad, entitled “It’s that simple,” clocking in at a mere 16 seconds, points out that the government wouldn’t force other groups to buy things they disagree with. It then asks: why is it willing to do so with Catholics?

“You wouldn’t force an atheist to buy a Bible,” says a woman in the opening shot of the ad. “It’s that simple.”

“You wouldn’t force a vegetarian to buy you a hamburger,” adds another. “It’s that simple.”

The ad concludes: “Why, then, would you ask a Catholic employer to purchase your birth control?”

(Click “like” if you want to end abortion! )

Thomas Peters, of the popular American Papist blog, was so impressed with the understated power of the video that he has suggested his readers turn it into an internet “meme.”

“Here’s how,” he wrote. “Upload your video comparing the HHS mandate to other things that would be absurd to do and include in the title of the video ‘It’s That Simple’! … It’s completely up to you what kind of video you make! Just be sure to keep to the ‘It’s That Simple’ meme.”

“You could also create graphics and other digital media related this theme — I leave it to your creativity!” he wrote.

The HHS mandate took a leading place on the political stage over the past week, ever since Vice President Joe Biden appeared to flat-out deny its very existence during the vice presidential debate. Biden’s statement prompted a swift correction from the U.S. bishops as well as many pro-life groups.

Obama defended the mandate during the presidential debate on Tuesday, arguing that Romney’s opposition to the mandate means he believes “employers should be able to make the decision as to whether or not a woman gets contraception through her insurance coverage.”