Despite renewed statements of concern by Catholic leaders, the Obama administration is done negotiating and will finalize its plan requiring insurance companies to provide free contraception to women working and studying at religious institutions, President Obama’s chief of staff said Sunday.
Jacob Lew told “Fox News Sunday” that the compromise offered last week to address objections by the Catholic Church is clear and consistent with the president’s “very deep belief that a woman has a right to all forms of preventive health care, including contraception.”
“We have set out our policy,” Lew said. “We are going to finalize it in the final rules, but I think what the president announced on Friday is a balanced approach that meets the concerns raised both in terms of access to health care and in terms of protecting religious liberties, and we think that’s the right approach.”
On Friday, Obama revised his decision to require all employers to provide contraceptive care after Catholic organizations balked that it is an intrusion on the Church’s religious liberty to require it to provide birth control. The president changed the mandate to shift the burden to insurance companies to provide free access to birth control and other forms of contraception.
“No institution, nonprofit institution, that has religious principles that would be violated has to pay for or directly offer these services, but women have access to the kinds of care they’re entitled to. We think that’s the right approach,” Lew said Sunday.
“This is a solution so that they are not providing it, so they’re not offering it, they’re not paying for it. So women have the choice on their own,” Lew added. I think a lot of good work was done and hopefully this will now set the issue to rest.”
But Catholic leaders, while first reserving judgment, remain dissatisfied. Late Friday, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement declaring the new policy of “grave moral concern” and urged Congress to overturn the regulation.
Wait! Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the same crowd that’s always whining about separation of Church and State? What gives them the right to step all over our 1st amendment? Oh, I get it – someone crowned BO emporer when we weren’t looking. Silly me!
Actually, what I’m having a hard time understanding is this; Exactly when did the Constitution change allowing the Executive Branch to make/change laws on the fly?
@johngalt: Funny you should mention that, John. Keep an eye out.
@DrJohn:
I always have an eye out for that, Dr. J. What amazes me is that more people cannot see the forest for the trees. They continue to focus on the specifics of the various issues without considering the overall impact those issues have on their lives.
This issue, the contraceptive/abortion mandate by Obamacare, is the perfect example of this. The specific item of interest, Obamacare mandating the providing of contraceptives by religious organizations, is one of great debate with valid points made on both sides of the discussion. However, most people miss the wider aspect of it, which is, the government infringing on one’s rights. And many of the arguments used by the left on this have little bearing on that aspect.
Consider the argument put forth by one of our own lib-leaners, Larry, for example. He stated something along the lines of the majority of Catholics having used, or are using, some form of birth control, and that studies show that higher availability of birth control leads to a lower abortion rate. Now, while those are valid points in a discussion on abortion or birth control itself, they mean very little in this one. Why? Because the main issue here isn’t on contraceptive/abortion. The main issue here is the overreaching of government that limits one’s rights. And in this case, a right specifically spelled out in the Constitution.
No matter which side of the specific issue one is on, everyone should be on the same side of the main issue. Meaning, even if one believes the Catholic Church is wrong to have the stance they have on contraceptives, the fact that the government wants to ‘mandate’ that they change their stance should be a heavy warning to everyone who values rights. Those spelled out specifically in the Constitution, and those ‘natural rights’ the Constitution is designed to protect.
And, on top of that, the Obama WH essentially “making law” in this case should have everyone up in arms about it.