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President Obama announced changes to a rule that would have required some religious institutions to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees on Friday in a bow to complaints from religious groups and conservative Republicans.
Obama announced a rule that would require insurers who provide coverage to religiously-affiliated employers to notify employees of the contraceptive services for which they're eligible for free coverage.
It's a revision to a previous proposal that would have given groups like Catholic charities and hospitals a year to add contraceptive services to their health care plans; administration officials say they would have spent the interim period consulting with groups on ways to balance their religious concerns with the new requirement.
But today, Obama acknowledged that a chorus of critical Catholic bishops and other faith leaders, as well as criticism from lawmakers and candidates, compelled him to speed up the timeline and announce a final rule today.
“After the many genuine concerns that have been raised over the last few weeks, as well as, frankly, the more cynical desire on the part of some to make this into a political football, it became clear that spending months hammering out a solution was not going to be an option,” he said, addressing reporters in the White House briefing room today.
“So last week, I directed the Department of Health and Human Services to speed up the process that had already been envisioned,” Obama continued, as that department’s secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, stood next to him. “We weren't going to spend a year doing this; we're going to spend a week or two doing this.”
“Women who work at these institutions will have access to free contraceptive services, just like other women, and they'll no longer have to pay hundreds of dollars a year that could go towards paying the rent or buying groceries,” Obama said.
Exemptions from this rule for religious institutions where most employees are of the same faith, like churches, remain intact.
The White House contends that insurance companies will agree to cover such costs because preventive services reduce the likelihood of more expensive medical care like cancer treatment and unexpected pre and post-natal care.
While Obama said today the new rule preserves the “principle of religious liberty," his announcement immediately elicited a new round of outcry from detractors on the campaign trail, in Congress and beyond.
Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, speaking today at the Conservative Political Action Committee’s annual gathering in Washington, told a room full of activists that if elected, he would “reverse every single Obama regulation that attacks our religious liberty and threatens innocent life.”
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), a chief sponsor of a bill that would overturn the whole mandate, called the announcement “an accounting gimmick.”
“Just because you can come up with an accounting gimmick and pretend like religious institutions do not have to pay for the mandate, does not mean that you've satisfied the fundamental constitutional freedoms that all Americans are guaranteed,” he said in a written statement.
And while Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said he thought it was “good that the President reaffirmed that the Federal government cannot force faith-based institutions to provide services that they teach are wrong,” he said measures like this demonstrate that “our Constitutional rights will continue to be threatened by the Administration’s policy goals.”
Religious organizations also sounded off, including the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a self-described legal and educational institute that “protects the free expression of all faith” and has so far filed three lawsuits in federal courts against the rule. The group noted that some religious organizations may object to having to pay an insurance company which “which will turn around and provide contraception to its employees for free.”
Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and a vocal opponent of the mandate, said that the change to the rule was “a first step in the right direction” but said that his group reserved “judgment on the details until we have seen them.”
But the new plan did seem to mollify some Democrats who had previously objected to the plan. Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine, the former governor of that state, said he was “pleased that the White House has taken further steps to ensure that all women have access to affordable contraception and to ensure that religious organizations will not be asked to violate their beliefs in the process.”
Kaine had a harsher tone on Tuesday, before the change was announced, saying the White House “made a bad decision in not allowing a broad enough religious-employer exemption.”
And Rep. John Larson (D-CT), who wrote a letter to Sebelius last week saying HHS needed to “re-engage in a dialogue with the religious community on this matter,” today praised the administration’s shift.
"In this politically charged environment, it is heartening to see that we can come together to find a path forward that protects the health needs of women while recognizing the conscience concerns of religious institutions,” Larson said in a statement.
NBC's Shawna Thomas, Libby Leist and Pete Williams contributed to this report.
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Man, that nut job Steve King (R) IA is sure a piece of work!
I heard him on the Martin Bashir show, the people of IA have my deepest sympathies!
Thank you President Obama for taking the wind out of the right wing nuts sails!
Thank you President Obama for taking the high road again!
As for Mitt, it's time for you to put your pitchforks and torches away! The president is clearly not at war with any church and only your party is infringing on our rights and freedom.
why do you watch shows you do not agree with? Why would you move from Arizona to Chicago? check out HR 4646
When did Bob Casey, Leon Panetta, Joe Biden and Tom Kaine become Republicans?
Obama is so full of crap ....
Who's football is it ... the daily, constant lachrymosity and moaning of libbies over womens "health" .... ie free birth control / abortion
Sheesh .... the very week we watch the gridiron trouncing and trashing of Komen's Team Pink .... "some" are trying to make it into a political football?
How stupid do people have to be to fall for Obama's pap?
Beavis and Betty Butthead Stupid seems to work, huh?
Btw Betty -
TANSTAFL or TANSTAFBCP
Harry Reid was in the news on the Senate floor telling everyone to calm down because a ruling had not even been made yet. The Obama administration was merely in the decision-making process to determine how this part of the Affordable Health Care Act should be implemented. Talk about more knee jerk hysteria by conservatives.
But of course the GOP/TP would attack the Affordable Health Care Act, including the likes of Gingrich who knows "Obamacare," and outright lies that religion is under attack by the "Other" president and "secular" liberals would get him a little more free press. What red meat this has been for candidates like Santorum to throw to his fundamentalist base, or any of the GOP/TP leaders (Boehner, McConnell, etc.) to use to gin up the Teapublican base.
Bob Casey, Leon Panetta, Joe Biden, and Tom Kaine, and other Catholics (including Chris Matthews) did not blow the matter out of proportion, or use it to gin up the Democratic base. They were being straight-forward and compromising, and all the things Teapublicans abhor.
The right-wing is truly pitiful, and now what new lie will they get their panties in a wade about? It is the other way around -- We are under attack by the fundamentalist extremists in this country. Fear them, not the "secular" government that is supposed to be secular!
Throw the Teapublicans out -- Obama/Biden - 2012!
This is a re-post of a response I gave to kaybeetoys on another article, but it does apply here where I see a lot of "Spin" going on....
kaybeetoys,
I don't think I've overstated it, in fact I've understated it.
I debated if I was going to respond to your claim that the republicans look like fools. That is conservatives that are using social issues to deflect attention away from anything.
Why don't we start with the "War"
Sebelius' War Lands Her in Court
This really started two years ago but read the above article, you will find,
WE now go to here,
The HHS Contraception Mandate vs. the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Even after the SCOTUS ruled against Obama in the Tabor case, we get this,
You see a trend here,
The Obama administration starting a war against Faith based medical facilities? Blaming the Republicans for this direct assault on the constitution by the president and his administrators is an outright falsehood.
It is not a social issue that the republicans raised, it is a constitutional issue, one that has been cooking for over two years, raised and then backed off from by the administration, and the political backlash will be at the administration.
Just one last point,
154 Congressmen Send Letter to HHS Protesting HHS Contraception Mandate
here you will find,
Even the congress thought is was a constitutional issue.
You can spin it any way you want to take responsibility off the democrat plate, but in reality all such spin is a falsehood also.
Nice try. Better luck next time.
TrueP,
Nice spin there! See my post above...
Egilman, Great post.
We need to get the religious cult's out of our government .This country was founded on freedom not religion ! These cult's are ruining this country. They destroy the very fiber of this great nation . None of this about about contraceptives its about religion !
I thought our founding fathers came here to escape religious persecution in Europe. Did something change in the history books since I attended elementary school?
Actually, a small number of COLONISTS, the pilgrims on the Mayflower, to be precise, came here to escape religious persecution. Do not confuse them with the Founding Fathers some 200 years later. The Founding Fathers saw religion as a majorly bad influence on governments due to the FACT that religionists ALWAYS try to to influence or take over governments. They saw how the Churches used their oversize influence to make laws and control politicians and governments through threats of discommunication or popular uprising led by the Church. Too many times such control was leveraged for the very wealthy (who gave big money to the churches and so had some controlling voice therein...just like the lobbyists today) against the needs of the people and our Fore Fathers saw this and put into the Constitution that Church and State MUST stay separate, they did this for VERY good reasons. The Founding Fathers KNEW that there was not only Christianity, in all it's forms, sects and divisions, but also Judaism, Islam, Bhuddism, Pagainsm, Hindu and Atheism, etc.etc.etc. and considered them ALL equal to each other, that NONE of them should rise above the others and NONE of them should be allowed to influence our Government in any way, shape or form based on their Religious views. Our Founding Fathers were not stupid nor ignorant, like a great number of voters here in the US are. THEY understood, quite well, that religion is a pure poison for realistic governance and MUST be kept completely separate from politics.
Think Progress:
President Obama’s regulation mandating that health insurance plans offer free birth control is an issue that most directly affects women. And yet, the cable news chatter over this controversy has been driven mostly by men, according to a new ThinkProgress analysis.
From Monday through Thursday evening, the leading cable news channels – Fox, Fox Business, MSNBC, and CNN – invited almost twice as many men as women onto their shows to discuss contraceptive coverage.
Out of a total of 146 guests who discussed contraception, the cables invited 91 men compared to 55 women as commentators. In other words, males comprised 62 percent of the total guests who commented on contraception. Fox was the most gender stratified network – on the Business network, 10 of 11 guests were male; on the News side, male pundits took up 65 percent of the guest lineup (28 men vs. 15 women). Sixty percent of MSNBC’s lineup was male (44 men vs. 31 women).
Contraceptive coverage is an issue where female perspectives should be heeded and understood. When it comes to contraceptive coverage, adding women’s voices on everything from their experiences with insurers to the decision’s impact on women voters can only make for a richer conversation. Hopefully, those individuals responsible for booking television guests will be more cognizant of gender sensitivities going forward.
*****************
The coverage this week on this subject was disgraceful, especially with Scarborough and Matthews. What the heck is going on with MSNBC? WHO CARES what these men think about this issue? WHO CARES how religious they pretend they are.
We're talking about women's health issues here. Serious health issues. Yet the media continues to use this issue to divide the country.
Didn't work. Keep your religion to yourself and butt out of women's health care issues.
Just butt out.
**************
Thank you President Obama for your sound leadership on this issue. It was perfect.
I agree, Pat. Especially since MSNBC has strong, competent women in its reporters and on-air hosts---why weren't they used better on this issue of great importance to women?
I am glad that, once again, President Obama was the only adult in the room and has crafted a solution to this issue.
A "solution"? Really?
See, what I heard was that, no, he was NOT going to run the risk of yet another nine to nothing SCOTUS rebuke. He was not going to require religious institution to provide free contraceptives and abortifacients to employees.
He was going to require insurers to provide the. Free. His reasoning? It will be cheaper for them, in the long run.
So, tell me, Obama cultists- what is to prevent Obama from requiring that grocers provide fresh fruit and vegetables, free? Aren't they good for you? Isn't there an "obesity" epidemic in this country? Don't too few people consume fruits and vegetables?
Speaking of obesity, why not command retailers to provide free bathroom scales? If more people had them perhaps the obesity rate would decline!
How about toilet tissue? Should not that be free, too? After all. We are talking about people's health, here.
You are always asking about proof of Obama's socialist tendencies. He just gave you one- try recognizing it.
Steeler, I just read over at the Obama Diary that Luke Russert and Dana Milbank are saying this was bad for President Obama.
No, IT WAS BAD FOR THE BISHOPS. President Obama's stand - religion should play NO PART in a women's health care.
And the media doesn't get this? Why no, of couse not. They're "men". Stupid men at that. You would think they would be happy to have a president who you know - cares about women's health care issues.
Guess not. To them it's all political. Someone may want to tell these two that we stand with the President on what he said today.
If anybody cares.
no joe, I'm not interested in your opinions on anything.
You're a GOP sell out.
President Obama's regulation mandating that health insurance plans offer free birth control is an issue that most directly affects women.
How pathetically obtuse?
Obama's "regulation mandating" affects every American ... big government can only "give" to one group by taking away from another.
Obama's "regulation mandating" simply assaults our, all Americans' freedom and liberty.
What being female is a pre-existing condition ... some disease?
How is abortion and free birth control a health issue? Heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, etc. are health issues .... abortion and free birth control are convenience "issues" ..... pure poitical pandering "issues."
Then just pay for your own BCP and abortions.
Btw - If you can't handle no joe, why don't you just save your insipid drivel for Facebook.
Bob, Pat has already stated, on more than one occasion, that she is a democrat FIRST, and an American after.
That informs MY opinion of HER opinion.
To say I hold it in contempt is putting it far too lightly.
By the way,mthe answer to my rhetorical questions?
The Fourth Amendment.
Which is what will preclude Obama from dictating to insurers that they provide coverage for anything free of charge.
This guy really does not get the Consitution at all. Nine to nothing.
Who would have believed it?
bob, do you know why the 10 Commandments were written? It was basic rules for a basic lifestyle. Don't fornicate or you'll produce a baby...and who's going to pay for that?
One of the biggest problems in our society is that many fathers don't take responsibility for their offspring, leaving the mothers to raise their children without help - pushing many of them below the poverty level.
All the talk this week has been about women's contraception, but the truth is, a lot of men would rather the woman deal with it instead of them having to be the responsible party. I swear, if the pill had been designed for men, you can bet this would never have even come up for discussion.
Ursula,
So why is the discussion not about making the fathers responsible ... free DNA testing and attach the fathers' wages?
If the mother doesn't want the baby, too young, can't afford it .... it will push her to the poverty level ... why not put the baby up for adoption instead of having to adopt babies from Russia, China, etc.?
So why does this only apply to women?
If it is really about unwanted pregnancies, why do men not get free vasectomies? Cheaper than women getting their tubes tied right?
Why do men not get free HIV testing .... that is where women get HIV from right?
Why do men not get free condoms and free oral contraceptives?
Bottom line is that all this has NOTHING to do with unwanted pregnancies, or womens "health."
It all about the expansion of the role and control of big government, nothing else but pure politics.
Women have a co-pay ranging from a dollar (Medicaid) to $10 or whatever and women can not afford that!
If it was about cost, how about Obama opening a pipeline or let us drill where the cost of 2 gallons of gasoline dosen't cost the co-pay for a month of pills?
Wouldn't that help the poor a lot more?
We saw the liberal jihad against Komen this week.
Personally, I am a lot more concerned with saving the life of a young mother of 2 with breast cancer than paying for Kim Kardashians birth control pills and providing an out for women suffering the horrible "inconvenence" of being pregnant.
Thanks for your comments, though.
Have a good weekend Ursula.
Why does the media seem to think that the Catholic church is the only church that matters? My church (Presbyterian) advocates universal access to health care, including contraception, and as a last resort, abortion, with the choice to be made by the woman.
You would think by listening to the coverage that there was no other Christian voice except for Catholic and the far right.
Hey no joe,
Thanks for info on Pat, I had no idea she actually admitted it.
It sure would be nice if most of the others would do an honest self examination and admit it too, huh?
Then maybe we could have an honest discussion about their agenda.
I know, just dreaming .... America is not ready for their honest agenda - they would lose that debate, thus they rarely admit it.
Good seeing you today. Have a great weekend.
Tell you what, bob, until men start squeezing babies out of their own bodies, they have no say. This is political, but only because an oppressive institution run by men thinks it knows what's best for women, and the president is women's champion.
Wow.
Even in that very context of my having more concern for a mother of 2 having BREAST CANCER you turned it!
I am oppressive because I realize there are limited dollars, and I feel those dollars are better spent trying to save the life of a young mother of 2 with BREAST CANCER than providing money for an abortion or Kim Kardashians FREE birth control?
Yet he is less concerned about women dying of BREST CANCER, or women dying of heart disease, or the elderly women, or children- little girls with cancer.
Good Grief.
So really Ursula, ...... dying of breast cancer IS BETTER than having to squeeze out a baby?????
Unbelievable ......
HELP no joe .... anyone .... please explain that to me?
The cancer argument is irrelevant...the Catholic church (in all its masculine wisdom) isn't denying women cancer care. They're oppressing a women's ability to get contraceptive services. So that's all this is about.
And by the way, I've squeezed out two and raised them despite a dead-beat ex-husband...how about you?
I addressed your comments specifically.
I asked 7 questions of you.
I then offered my personal opinion in my context .... the context of breast cancer and you took a partial sentence out of that SPECIFIC context in an effort to make your points.
Breast cancer is relevent because nothing is free and there is only so much money to go around, so much money for real "health" issues such as cancer.
And by the way, I loathe dead-beat dads. Single moms have the toughest job and I respect no one more than I do single moms trying and giving everything to raise the kiddos the best they can.
Kuddos to you.
Bob, you sound like a decent person and I appreciate that you don't insult people with whom you disagree. But I think we're talking on different planes.
Have a good weekend - see you next week!
Ursula, You come of a tad bit too shrill, and your arguments way too vapid. You are just a stooge here just trying to make Obama's opponents look stupid, right? Come off it.
So basically if you're a man pay up and shut up? Why are contraceptives different from drugs for chronic conditions. Why are contraceptives being singled out for no co-pay but insulin or lipitor are not? Please explain your rational.
..and BTW they are NOT free.
Alan, ALL preventative care is no-pay now because of health care reform, because it saves costs in the long run
Like we need their judgment!
Where is the judgment on pedophile priests and their bishops? For decades they raped and molested thousands of innocent children, and now they want to tell those people when to have children of their own?
On the verge of bankruptcy, the Catholic church is reduced to grasping at straws. Those who follow are frightened sheep.
so now what are his rules?
I'm a little disappointed in the President for changing his mind on this issue. Instead of a brouhaha about paying for contraceptives maybe we should be asking the church people to do a better job of educating, councelling and convincing their members to go along with the church's man made edicts and rules or get the Church to change.
If a Protestant, who happens to believe in and practice birth control works for an institution owned and controlled by the Catholic Church it would be as bad for her as for the one who doesn't believe in contraception but must help pay for someone else's contraception upon demand because they are all in the same insurance pool. This should be an individual's own choice. The contraceptives should be available if required but doing their job and educating councelling etc. would possibly make it the choice of an individual not to do contraceptives other than natural methods such as early withdrawal.
I am disappointed in this development. The crazies are just emboldened and the next fight will be worse. The Bishops hoodwinked the nation--they are well-experienced at this.
I would think that a bill that gives the President the power to make such decisions regarding religious teachings and practices should be unconstitutional.
This issue is a big waste of time, resources, and is just another GOP/RNC "Distraction." Our nation must be focusing on jobs, job training programs, fair taxes, fair trade, an efficient energy policy, and the closing of all corporation tax loop holes. Too many of our citizens are out of work however, it is getting better. Our nation has thousands of US Military Individuals coming home, and many are home already. How does our nation take care of our brave Veterans? How do we train them for life after war? This issue just proves that the TeaBegger "Clowns" are religious radicals. Who are now using "Cultural Crap" to "Distract/Distort" our nation from the real issue of our economy. That is fact!
and 1 more time the president out smart the GOP field he satisfy the church and show the women he cares about there issues while the GOP candidate jumping of the cliff they can kiss the woman vote goodbye in november.
smart move Mr president
No, the President didn't out smart anyone except himself. Can someone show me where the President has the authority to tell insurance companies that they must provide a service? I believe the President is again trashing the constitution by directing, by executive order, that a private company must provide something.
All of this will end up being moot anyway because if, as everyone expects, the Supreme Court rules all or parts of the AHCA is unconstitutional the law will be.
dude its even cheaper for insurance to have to pay for bill then have to deal with all the expence of pregnancy and all that.
Dude, that's not the point. The point is who gave Obama the right to tell insurance companies that they had to provide contraceptives free of charge?
you think i really care if insurance were mandate to give something in return to the ppl they been abusing us for decades if they dont like it then let em shut down.
Wow. All those religious leaders on the Hannity special tonight. They are totally adamant. They are feeling attacked by this administration. Not just Catholics either.
I think Obama has opened a huge can of worms and he doesn't have the smarts to get the lid back on. LOL
More than half of the states already have requirements like Obama rolled out. There has been peace. Major Catholic hospitals and universities already provide contraceptives in their employee insurance policies. The patient and her doctor decide. contraception lowers costs of health care and insurance. My wife is an R.N. working in a Catholic hospital, part of a large hospital group. Contraception is part of the hospital's employee insurance plan.
Then right wing zealots decided to declare jihad on a preexisting condition, as if it was just thrust upon them. Phoney hysteria is part of the reason the public is disgusted with this obstructionist Congress. Where are the jobs bills? Under a pile of coloring books in the offices of Republican committee chairmen along with this years budget.
When I was a Republican, it was a respectable party, until Nixon. Now it has deteriorated into extremism, dishonesty, lack of character, and anti-American rhetoric. As an independent voter, the only Republicans that are trustworthy any more are at the local level. Democrats are not any worse than they have been, but this crop of Republicans are rotten to the core. They have become a syndicate of the worst instincts and actions in a century.
Affinity1
Take a look at my post @1.7, There is no one to blame but the democrats themselves. I try to keep the truth out there and stop all the lies and political spinning, but it is difficult at times....
Does Obama wear condoms??
No actually I think he only uses one.
The shriller and more whiny the bishops get about religious freedom, the sillier they look. Religious freedom used to mean something, but they want to apply it to the right to strip out your employee's insurance plans to fit your own religious convictions. Let the worker's decide -- its on their conscience, not the bishops'.