Obama: Churches Won’t Be Forced to Directly Provide Contraceptives But…
- Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:30pm by
Billy Hallowell
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This afternoon, President Obama announced the “accommodation” his administration plans to offer church-affiliated groups. Speaking from the White House, he explained that, under the new plan, universities and institutions connected with faiths that oppose contraception and associated services will not have to directly offer them.
President Barack Obama concludes his remarks in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, where he announced the revamp of his contraception policy requiring religious institutions to fully pay for birth control. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
That being said, the insurers that these churches contract with will, indeed, be forced to cover contraceptives for those employees who wish to receive them. This latter rule will apply to all insurance companies serving religious-affiliated non-profits and institutions.
Obama said that the new-and-improved birth control, sterilization and abortion-inducing drug policy will protect religious liberties, while assuring women’s access to contraception reports the AP. He also urged politicians not to use the dilemma as a divisive political issue.
“I understand some folks in Washington want to treat this as another political wedge issue. But it shouldn’t be. I certainly never saw it that way,” the president also said. “This is an issue where people of good will on both sides of the debate have been sorting through some very complicated questions.”
CNN has more regarding initial reaction to the so-called compromise:
…conservative Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, insisted the revised rule still violates the Constitution.
“This ObamaCare rule still tramples on Americans’ First Amendment right to freedom of religion,” Jordan said in a written statement. “It’s a fig leaf, not a compromise. Whether they are affiliated with a church or not, employers will still be forced to pay an insurance company for coverage that includes abortion-inducing drugs.”
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski called the compromise “too little, too late.”
In a press release, Catholic League President Bill Donohue reflected these same ideals. Here’s a portion of his statements regarding the matter:
“President Obama’s latest ploy just adds insult to injury. If the insurance plan of a Catholic institution must cover services it deems immoral, then such a healthcare plan is offensive, plain and simple.
The Catholic League, for example, uses Christian Brothers as its insurance carrier. So if a future employee of ours were to demand free abortion-inducing drugs, and she is allowed to request free drugs from Christian Brothers, then the rest of us would, in effect, be subsidizing her abortion. This is outrageous and will not stand judicial scrutiny.
When it comes to the First Amendment, there is no such thing as a half loaf. We want now, and in the future, the same rights we have enjoyed since the beginning of the republic.”
While this does exempt church-related groups from directly paying for the services, it raises an important question. When a company of institution contracts with an insurer, all associated fees would most likely be taken into account. If insurers are forced to pay for and cover contraceptives for faith-based charities, won’t the fees associated with this coverage still be passed on to the church groups and individuals buying into the plans?
This is likely a point that will be raised and explored as the debate surrounding the mandate continues.
This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.
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Comments (435)
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:00pm.
Report Post »Is it to late to “Late Term Abort” him?…………
IMPEACHBHO
Posted on February 19, 2012 at 11:33amYea, but not to late to kick his sorry arsh out
Report Post »BubbaCoop
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:55pmDistinction without a difference.
Report Post »Tifn8r
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:02pmSo, when someone hires a hit man to murder someone, they’re not going to be guilty anymore?
Report Post »It’s the same thing!
All they’re doing is telling the church to pay the hit man (insurance co) to do the job. Leave it to the progressives to think that absolves you of responsibility.
Huh- that’s funny – this theory would also explain how Holder thinks he’s “innocent” of any wrongdoing in Fast and Furious.
CatB
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:45pmThis is BULL .. he is going to REQUIRE INSURNCE CO. cover anything he says .. and we will all have to buy it .. this is NOT freedom of Religion or anything else .. this is TYRANNY!
OMG 2012 !!! Obama MUST go!
Report Post »Lonescrapper
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:05pmit‘s going to force insurance companies to drop churches from their plans or make their rates so incredibly high it’s stupid. Even insured, birth control costs 20.00 for a generic pack: imagine having to pay 20.00 plus dollars for each person employed by a church & thats just the pill, they have to eat that cost and the cost of abortions, the day after pill, probably a D&C, for FREE and you know they won’t, they‘ll just refuse to cover churches or shoot the rates so high people can’t get covered at all.
Report Post »booger71
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:12pmWhat happened when the feds mandated that all heath ins policies cover child birth–premiums soared
Report Post »What happened when the Feds mandated all health ins policies cover mental heath -premiums soared
This will be no different.
Mtroom
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:21pmI knew when he said accommodate what was going to happen…I could see it …First, Obama administration see issue with speech…15 staffers break out dictionary…find new words to change the image…re-release same speech with the new words. Don’t care how they word it, it won’t change the fact that they will still be paying for it..Just watched his azz again…Still makes me laugh…So, instead of forcing them to pay for it, you force them to use the companies that provides it. Who, by all accounts, will charge more for the insurance they offer to cover the cost, which means ..They still pay for it… Hey, OWS…You seeing this?…They did the same to you…Your still paying the same crooks, and forcing me to pay them, too…please go home.
Report Post »Lonescrapper
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:26pmand how was he able to change this regulation without even taking it to the senate or congress? Now Presidents can directly amend bills and regulations? What happened to our representative government?
Report Post »cessna152
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:54pmIt’s the same thing…with the exception of someone else paying for it. My goodness how much longer do we have to put up with these lying, deceiving Marxists?
Report Post »Kozan
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:04pmThe original Gospel according the Prophet Obama to the Rigidly Religious:
Commandment 11. “Thou Shalt Honor and Pay for the sacred rites of Abortion (Protected First Amendment Speech with a Body-Count)!”
That’s what they call Fundamental Transformation!
Report Post »lionB
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:09pmAmen Cess. This has gone on for way to long. We need to stick together and vote the criminals out of office. It is a sad day when a guy that literally hates the US is running the country purposefully off of a cliff.
Report Post »mfspradley79
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:13pmThe same person will be paying for it which is the person/business/organization paying the insurance premiums. All he changed was the wording. It’s just like all the other “free” services Obamacare forced down everyone’s throat. The insurance companies don’t pay for these services out of their profits! The “free” coverage is paid for in the ever rising monthly premiums!!!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:36pmTYRANNY .. that is what this is .. When will the R’s stand UP TO THIS! Da m n them ALL!
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:54pm.
Obama: Churches Won’t Be Forced to Directly Provide Contraceptives But….
It’s that But, that’s gonna bite us right after the election………….
Report Post »junepug
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:02pmDon’t forget, “but and however” are hinge words. When a person uses the hinge word, what he is saying is to forget all he said before the hinge word and his real comments are to follow.
Report Post »NewsStud
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:53pmThis decision just shifts around the same issue from one hand to the other.
The real way to fix this is to disallow insurance companies and taxpayer-funded health care systems to provide for contraception and medically unnecessary pregnancy termination. (I think efforts to save a mother’s life ought to be paid for. A woman suffering an ectopic pregnancy ought not to be financially barred from saving her own life.)
Everybody wins with this option. Religious institutions and/or taxpayers don’t have to pay for it… and since coverage won’t be available the price will drop to the point it can be easily afforded by those who seek it. Pharmaceutical companies and even Planned Parenthood are, after all, businesses who would rather make some money instead of no money.
Will some still be unable to afford it? Yes. Hopefully, the lack of a net will convince them to be chaste. For those who would be able to afford it, they‘d be spending their own money on something I’d rather not pay for but is not my place to say they can’t do what they want with their own bodies.
Report Post »NancyBee
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:51pmRepeal the whole blasted thing!!
Report Post »jrcess
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:53pmObama what a miserable excuse for a human!
Report Post »SketchFinster
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:06pmHuman?
Report Post »drphil69
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:53pmOur President is either a complete MORON or he is EVIL.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:59pm.
He’s Both…..
Report Post »RedManBlueState
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:22pmHe IS a complete moron. Can’t complete a sentence unless reading from the TOTUS.
Report Post »Look behind the podium to find the puppetmaster pulling Obama’s strings.
Semper4everSemper
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:44pmIt‘s only recently I think I’ve got him figured out – he‘s the OPPOSITE of Bill Clinton in that Slick always supposedly ’felt OUR pain’ but this guy is making us feel HIS pain. He’s a narcissist who grew up in a totally dysfunctional (but well heeled) family and has absolutely no connection to anything American – that‘s why he doesn’t understand Americans – prior to starting his own family. So all he’s trying to do is make US as dysfunctional as his life has been and only knows one vehicle to make that happen – markcyst teachings.
Report Post »cassandra
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:02pmDrphil he is both a evil moron and a useful idiot for soros We need Rick Santorum to help get us out of this mess
Report Post »ShellySoWhat
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 6:56amRacists…
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:51pmInsurance companies pay, and then raise their premiums to compensate. Nothing is free. Kick the bum out. January 21st cannot come soon enough.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:49pm.
Report Post »He’s lying!!!! I saw those purple lips just a flappin…………….
GMAN455
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:49pmYeah he just passed it to the insurance companys to do it and pay for it
Report Post »WIjoyzie
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 2:29pmObama didn’t just “pass” this to the insurance companies… he is mandating that the private companies MUST offer free contraception/abortion services. What will he mandate next? …that the private insurer MUST limit or eliminate certain services and procedures?
Report Post »Future Hope
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:48pmHey, it cost a lot of money to buy the votes off the free loaders! I beleive that King Obama and his DNC (Democratic, socialist, communist) party have once again placed their destruction of the country plan right in our faces. Sadly, most of the sheep will not even notice. The rest of the free loading sheep will just go to the feed trough and eat from King Obama’s controlling food dispencer.
Report Post »JUSTANOTHEROPINION
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:48pmBy providing the insurance is not the Churches still providing contraceptives?
Report Post »JohnTwoFeathers
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 2:10pmThis is just another Laurel and Hardy standup comedy act based on their skit “Who’s on first” This clown makes me want to heave. Hope Rick can hold it together and win the Republican nomination.
Semper Fi
Report Post »Mtroom
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 2:45pmSrry…wasn’t Laurel and hardy…was Abbot and Costello…but yeah…same thing.
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:47pmThere is no such thing as “good will on both sides” when obama is involved.
Report Post »Everything he does is calculated to divide, destroy, deny, and conquer.
There is not an atom of good will in his person.
Don’t let him skate on this.
HKS
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:45pmWow, what a concept, Let’s put the bad drivers in the same pool as the good drivers and let them both pay the same rate. What’s next, put bad students in the same pool as good students of course and give them both an average grade. Now we can Let the deadbeats work with the hustlers and pay them both the same. Here is another good one, let’s put all the worthless and perverted teachers in with the all good ones and shield them from interference and pay them the same, Oh, we already do that. Socialism anyway you cut it. So much for that bad apple theory or is it?
Report Post »HKS
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:53pmI had to do just one more, what if we lumped all the fat people in with all the skinny people and say we are to fat, make them all eat straw to loose weight, oh crap we already do that one to, Michelle loves that one.
Report Post »junepug
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:29pmSounds like “Atlas Shrugged”. If you have not read the book, I highly recommend it. It really shows the direction the Pharaoh Obama is trying to take this nation.
Report Post »Badger Patriot
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:45pmHow stupid does Barak O’Stalin think we are? He is still violating the Constition! He will not stop until he destroys our Constition. WAKE UP AMERICA! Vote this Commie OUT! -before its too late….
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:48pm….Barrack OStalin…it fits him to a “T” (as in Tyrant).
Report Post »KathleenElsie
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 2:01pmHe has no respect for religious or Constitutional freedoms. It is not how he was train at any time of his life.
Report Post »AFeatherAdrift
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:45pmNever as dumb as you actually are I assure you.
Report Post »delawarebill
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:45pmIf he says the word “fairness” one more time, I think my head might explode… Apparently that’s what this country was founded on. I don’t remember seeing that in the Declaration of Independence anywhere, you guys?
Report Post »cessna152
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:02pmFairness? For whom? It’s always a “fair” trade when one gets things their way. However, it’s truly fair when BOTH parties are happy in the end. The guy is pure evil and will never change from his radical ways.
Report Post »IMCHRISTIAN
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:44pmObama is playing games. He so wants to be a dictator that he will step on toes even if what he wants is unconstitutional. He wants us to watch one hand which he whacks us with the other. God help us if he gets elected again and God is watching all. Love not hate…Truth not lies…Freedom and justice for all. Have a good day!!!!
Report Post »USPATRIOT101
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:43pmSorry comrad , the damage is done. Good riddens.
Report Post »inexiletill2012
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:42pmSo…the Emperor has changed his royal mind eh ?
King geOrge must go
Report Post »floridacockleburr
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:52pmYour one president behind. I think you mean Sheik Obama.
Report Post »The_Jerk
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:41pmThis is a wording change, without change in practice or principle. It’s like Caiaphas telling Pilate to kill Jesus, because we can’t. Same thing.
Report Post »NancyBee
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:55pmvery good
Report Post »Netizen Kane
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:41pmObama may retreat in this battle, as evil does when exposed to light, but don’t make the mistake of thinking there is victory in this war. Obama and the Left must corrupt and destroy the influence of religion, by design, for their aims of power and in a reformulated Constitution. Hold together, peoples of faith. Much, much more is coming from this enemy.
Report Post »Steve28
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:40pmIt is not free! It is a back door way of doing the same thing. Typical Obama slight of hand.
Report Post »downthewell
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 4:31pmWhen it comes to using the back door, the Catholic Church and their pedophile priests are the experts.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55751455@N02/5987685144/in/photostream/
Report Post »And I Say
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:39pmso whats the difference, they (the organizations) still need to choose an insurance company that needs to provide the service. their just using slight of hand.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:36pmWe the people still pay for this….BO must GO….TEA 2012!!!!
Report Post »Steve28
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:38pmIt is just a back door way of doing the same thing. It will be included in the premium either way. I hope the Church is not foolish enough to buy into this fraud.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:43pmHe is trampling the Constitution … FOR GOD’S sake REPUBLICANS IN GOVERNMENT STAND UP TO THIS TYRANNY!
Report Post »NancyBee
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:58pmCat…I agree…these Repubs are just standing there…no action
Report Post »constitutionaldirective
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:33pmGood .. at least now the Catholics can get back in line for their FREESTUFF! [disgust]
Those who stand without principles will fall for anything!
Report Post »Dismayed Veteran
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:47pmYou are wrong. Catholics won’t rollover for this BS.
Report Post »DAZ
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:28pmWAKE UP! If the Catholic or Religious Employer is not paying for the birth control or day after pill, then where does the money come from??? Is Obama giving the Insurance company permission to “print” the money to pay for the birth control? NO. Then where does the money come from to pay for these “free” services? It comes from the inflated insurance premiums of the Religious Employer. The “Free Services” are not free, somebody has to pay for them, and we all know the Insurance provider will need to charge for the Free Services in the Employer’s premiums, but say they are “Donating” them. In a month or so, they will also be Donating actual abortions paid for with the mystery money.
Report Post »constitutionaldirective
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:37pmMaybe not THIS shovel full.. but right now a “Social Justice” higharcy seems to be in control of the church(es).. so my faith is low that they have learned anything from this and I fully understand now that most organizations are out for their own and will not stand for those demanding liberty except as it affects their particular pet issues.. IE: churches, .orgs, even the organized TEA Parties at local levels are a disappointment.. (IE: Ga TEA Party OK’ing state cigarette taxes) it’s the whole “we got ours” mentality that has permeated groups within conservative movement that has me disenchanted..
It’ll have to be proven to me otherwise!
Report Post »smood8
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:41pmWhat a shabby duck and spin move by Obama’s regime!!! Who do they think we are. Oh yeah, they are soooo much smarter than the rest of us. We should bow down and just be grateful that they are there to look after us and spend our money for things we abhor like abortion. There is now change in their plan, they just found the next best route and we ALL will pay for it through our insurance companies
Report Post »encinom
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:43pmDismayed Veteran
Report Post »Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:47pm
You are wrong. Catholics won’t rollover for this BS.
______________________
Majority of Catholics alreadied agreed with this, only the old men and Bishops had a problem.
ThemDemsLie2much
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 6:24pmNo Poll was taken by Catholic Women regarding this issue. There is no evidence to back up this made-up lie by Democraps. Shiela FA Jackassn probably made this up and no one has the balls to call her on it for fear of being labled a racist. Back up your lies Encinom with proof. A link to someone else stating such isn’t proof so save it.
Report Post »encinom
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 6:35pm@ThemDemsLie2much
There is a poll out showing the majority of Catholics support the President.
A majority (55%) of Americans agree that “employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost.” Four-in-ten (40%) disagree with this requirement.
Report Post »http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/02/january-tracking-poll-2012/
kryptonite
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 8:49pm@encinom
A majority (55%) of Americans agree that “employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost.”
——–
Your data is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter who agrees or disagrees with this mandate. It violates freedom of religion as stipulated in the First Amendment. Now you may hate the Constitution of the U.S., like Obama does. You may love his communism. You may be an atheist. But neither you nor the WH Occupier nor anyone else in this country is above the Constitution. The Bill of Rights doesn’t protect majorities. It protects one and all from govt. overreach, which is what that POS in the WH is doing.
As for the Catholic Church, the bishops don’t matter. The Pope has the last word. Eventually, he will have to make a statement if the commie continues down this path of trampling on Catholic Church doctrine.
Now in re the poll itself, it is Obama propaganda and therefore misleading. The Obama contraception mandate can and will involve contraceptives that can also be taken as abortifacients (morning-after pill) in very early pregnancies. So instead of spewing leftist talking pts., find me a poll from a reliable source that shows most Americans and subgroups believe their employers should pay for and provide health care coverage that includes free abortifacients. Waiting…
Report Post »encinom
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 9:38pmI was raised a catholic and the truth is the Pope doesn’t matter either, the majority of American Catholics will go on ignoring him. Additionally, Catholic business still have to obey the law, like the 2000 EEOC finding that mandate coverage of birth control, or the various states that require the same. Nor is this a Constitutional issue, its an employment one.
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:56am@Encinom
You liberals confuse freedom from religion with freedom of religion — except when it comes to Muslims. Then even a jacka$$ like Obama gets it. Tell me, why are Muslims exempted from mandatory health insurance under Obamacare?
=> EOC finding that mandate coverage of birth control, or the various states…
—
Catholic employers who objected and were able to, self-insured. You liberals never cease to amaze me. How do past violations of a given group’s Constitutional rights justify greater and even more egregious abuse? Catholics protested those laws vehemently. They sued. They complied “under duress.” They have reached their breaking point, as have many others in the course of human history. America is fed up with Obama’s disdain for the Constitution.
=> Nor is this a Constitutional issue, its an employment one.
Report Post »–
That is downright asinine. Even that POS you voted for recognizes that his mandate violates the religious liberty of practicing Catholics, who BTW expressed their concerns to him regarding this very matter BEFORE Obamacare was signed into law and they were stupid enough to lend him their support.
Kitkarr
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:24pmIts not about you or your wife’s right to choose or not to choose (or mine for that matter). Its about someone who hasn’t even had a chance to choose anything yet.
Just because most people don’t understand self-sacrifice, it doesn’t mean that those who do are self-righteous a**hats.
No offense, but it is you who needs to get over it (“it” being yourself).
Report Post »Phreqguru
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:31pmIf something that drastic happened to me, I would choose the life of my wife. However, I would not expect my neighbor to have to pay for it…it would be our call as a family and come out of my pocket and no one else’s.
Report Post »