White House revises on insurance mandate for contraception
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WASHINGTON -- The White House is backing off a policy that would have required objecting religious institutions to pay for coverage for birth control.
Instead, insurance companies will have to provide the coverage at no charge, according to senior administration aides.
This afternoon President Barack Obama is expected to announce a change of course that top aides characterize as an accommodation rather than a compromise.
The move is a reaction to backlash after the president's announcement last month that religious institutions other than houses of worship would be required to cover birth control beginning in August 2013.
Roman Catholics and others complained that the policy would require them to violate church teachings.
Congressional Republicans sprang to their defense, vowing to reverse the policy while Democrats said it's a matter of fairness to ensure access to reproductive health services.
In a conference call this morning, senior aides said the change protects non-profits with religious objections from directly paying for contraceptives.
Insurance companies will not be permitted to increase premiums to cover the cost.
Because the cost of pregnancy is much higher than than of birth control, the change won't saddle insurance companies with increased costs, aides said.
Initial reaction from both supporters and opponents of the original language was mixed.
Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh expressed strong doubts.
"Not having read exactly what the provisions may be, it sounds to me like smoke and mirrors," he said.
Bishop Zubik said he was troubled at forcing any employer to mandate services to which they have moral or religious objections.
"This doesn't embrace the real issue," he said. "It isn't just a matter of who pays for the services, but for an organization to be forced to provide them."
But leading Catholics who had supported Mr. Obama's candidacy and had worked vigorously behind the scenes to have the rule modified said they were satisfied that it met the church's moral requirements of not becoming involved in providing services it considers immoral.
"The benefit is that there are no referral requirements," said Nicholas Cafardi, dean emeritus of the Duquesne University School of Law and a high profile Catholic endorser of Mr. Obama in 2008. "The other benefit is that it is not provided by the employer. Those were the bishops' major concerns and they have been met."
The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, an organization of liberal religious bodies that had supported the original mandate nevertheless praised the revision.
"We will also diligently monitor the implementation of this new rule to ensure it preserves the intention of these services to be easily accessible by all women," its statement said.
Catholics for Free Choice, an independent group that wants the church to approve contraception and abortion, castigated the president for going too far.
It "gives victory No. 1 to the bishops on their 'religious liberty' shopping list," said Jon O'Brien, president of the group.
First Published February 10, 2012 11:34 am
