The HHS Mandate: An Allegory

Imagine there are these vegetarians, okay? Just chillin' with their carrots and hummus and doing their own thing and whatnot. And then these meat-eaters come along and they're like:

Hey, vegetarians! What's up? Listen up. Listen: We've decided that you guys have to eat meat now.
Vegetarians: What gives? We're morally opposed to eating animals.

Meat eaters: Oh, yeah, we know that, but WE aren't. So...yeah.

Vegetarians: You can't force us to eat meat!

Meat eaters: Are you infringing on our RIGHT to eat meat?

Vegetarians: What?? No, what the heck?

Meat eaters: Rare or medium rare?

Honestly, how outraged would people be? "You can't do that!" "Where do you get the power to inflict your views on me?" "You can't force me to do something I don't believe in!"

Yet it's completely fine if the same is done to people who believe in a bigger, more basic, more essential, more compassionate ideal: that life matters at all stages.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate, pray for us!