The White House statement on its changes in policy on contraception to remove religious objections is on the jump. It will require insurance companies to provide free contraception coverage, as part of free preventive health coverage, with no co-pays, at no cost to an employer where that employer refuses to support birth control pills and other contraceptive services for women.
No involvement of a religious institution will be required. Nor will it be required of a business, such as a hospital, loosely affiliated with a church. Insurance companies will provide coverage directly. It will save money in preventive care.
Could a religious group possibly still object? You know they will. Because the critics prefer a policy that crams THEIR religion down YOUR throat. They are close to ridding huge swaths of the country of the availability of legal abortion and many of them have made clear that birth control is next. The newly hot Republican president candidate Rick Santorum has already expressed his disagreement with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibited states from outlawing contraceptives.
The White House fix is the big news. But I urge you to refer back to my earlier post, loaded with interesting stuff. There’s the fact that federal labor law — instituted in 2000 — has long prohibited all employers with 15 or more workers from discriminating in prescription coverage. If it covers drugs, it must cover birth control, not just Viagra. There’s Mike Huckabee’s wild demagoguery at CPAC, along with his rip of President Obama for not tithing. There’s polling that even the original controversial policy was popular with a majority of the U.S. and of Catholics. Now the numbers should go to 60 or 70 per cent approval. Check it out.
Planned Parenthood backs this compromise, of course. Birth control means fewer problem pregnancies and many fewer abortions.
UPDATE: Dr. No Boozman doesn’t like it and is looking for a solid reason that he hasn’t yet found. But he’ll find something. He doesn’t want women to have birth control pills.