Obama seeks to calm uproar over birth control requirement

By Frank Fuhrig Feb 10, 2012, 21:33 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama on Friday tried to defuse an uproar over religious liberty and contraception, announcing a change in a new requirement for all workplace health insurance to provide women with free birth control.

As part of the 2010 passage of Obama's health insurance reforms, the government issued a regulation last month that required employers offering health insurance to include full birth control coverage including contraceptives, the so-called morning-after pill and sterilization services.

An exemption was made for churches but not church-affiliated institutions such as charities, hospitals, schools and universities.

The Roman Catholic Church, which opposes contraception and has by far the largest network of affiliated institutions, reacted strongly against the policy, and the White House was reportedly under mounting pressure from Catholic legislators from Obama's own Democratic Party.

Flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, whose department issued the regulation on January 20, Obama said that the changed policy would allow such church-affiliated non-profits to offer health plans that exclude birth control services, but the insurance companies providing the coverage must still offer free birth control to those workers.

'No woman's health should depend on who she is or where she works or how much money she makes,' Obama said.

'Now, as we move to implement this rule, however, we've been mindful that there's another principle at stake here, and that's the principle of religious liberty, an unalienable right that is enshrined in our Constitution.'

He acknowledged 'the many genuine concerns that have been raised over the last few weeks,' and called Friday's change a 'solution that works for everyone.'

'Religious liberty will be protected, and a law that requires free preventive care will not discriminate against women,' Obama said.

Catholic University of America President John Garvey, in a letter co-signed with other Catholic academics on Friday, wrote that the 'so-called 'accommodation' changes nothing of moral substance and fails to remove the assault on religious liberty and the rights of conscience which gave rise to the controversy.'

'It is certainly no compromise,' the critics said in the letter.

The letter argued that Catholic institutions would still have to sign contracts with insurance companies to specify the included coverage.

'It does not matter who explains the terms of the policy purchased by the religiously affiliated or observant employer. What matters is what services the policy covers,' Garvey and four others argued.

Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic Catholic who leads the minority Democratic faction in the House of Representatives, praised Obama's 'unifying approach as we work to ensure that the American people continue to receive the benefits of health care reform.'

Most private health insurance in the United States provides medications with 'co-payment' by individuals, who typically pay 5 to 20 dollars a month for each common prescription drug. Estimates of current monthly co-payments for birth-control pills range from 15 to 88 dollars.

Lisa Maatz, the top policy adviser for the American Association of University Women, said she was relieved 'to see women's health prioritized over politics.'

'This decision is not a compromise on women's health,' she said. 'Instead, it's an accommodation for people who are truly concerned about religious liberty.'

The American Civil Liberties Union said that the Obama decision 'reaffirms contraception access for all women' and called for an end to the 'intense recent debate' on religious liberty.