Fix Health Care Policy

The contraception debate in a nutshell: There is no contraception debate.

No one—neither Republicans nor the more than 100 individuals and organizations suing over the HHS mandate—is calling for a ban on contraception.

Governor Romney has said that “with regards to contraceptives, of course, Republicans, and myself in particular, recognize that people should have a right to use contraceptives. There’s absolutely no validity whatsoever to the Obama effort to try and bring that up.”

As for religious employers and organizations, they simply don’t want to have their religious beliefs trampled on by being forced to pay for contraception and abortion-inducing drugs in violation of their faith. Heritage legal expert John Malcolm explains that this position “would not preclude any women, including those who work for religious institutions, from using or obtaining contraception or abortifacients. Employers who favor providing contraceptive and abortion drug coverage to their employees would retain their right to do so.”

So now let’s focus on the real issue: Under Obamacare, the government is mandating which benefits an insurer is obligated to cover, and it’s far more than just the infamous contraception and abortion drug mandate. This will have a deleterious effect on health coverage for both women and men.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: abortion drug coverage, contraception rule, Gov. Romney, HHS mandate, ObamaCare, President Obama, repeal the law

The part of Obamacare that has been getting the most attention is the individual mandate that was recently ruled a tax by the Supreme Court. That isn’t the only onerous provision resulting from Obamacare, though. The HHS Mandate that requires nearly all insurance to cover abortion drugs, contraception and sterilization–regardless of moral or religious objections–is a direct challenge to the religious freedom that is guaranteed to us by our Constitution. Click HERE to read our “Lunch with Heritage” online chat. We were joined by the Director of Domestic Policy Studies Jennifer Marshall. She talked about what Obamacare means for religious freedom, what can be done now, and recent “Fortnight for Freedom” events.

Tags: abortifacients, contraceptives, HHS mandate, ObamaCare, objections, religious freedom, repeal the law, sterilization, Supreme Court decision

On several occasions during the health care reform debate, President Obama promised the American people, “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” Now, even the Administration admits that this isn’t the case, stating that “as a practical matter, a majority of group health plans will lose their grandfather status by 2013.”

Case in point: Under Obamacare, grandfathered plans are not subject to the preventative services mandate, a subset of which is the anti-conscience mandate that requires almost all non-exempted employers to provide and pay for abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization.

In one of the 23 lawsuits over the mandate’s trampling on religious liberty, Newland v. Sebelius, the plaintiffs argue that the mandated coverage of these products violates the religious freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment because it forces employers, including those who object to use of such products on moral or religious grounds (for example, religious hospitals, schools, and charities) to pay for coverage of the objectionable drugs and services. There is only a narrow religious exemption that effectively applies only to places of worship.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: HHS mandate, if you like your health plan, lawsuits, President Obama, promises, religious liberty

More than 80 plaintiffs in 23 different lawsuits are now challenging the HHS mandate that will require many religious institutions to provide health insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and other contraceptive services. At the heart of these lawsuits is whether the government’s purported interest in marginally increasing access to contraceptive services trumps the basic right to religious liberty that both individuals and institutions have traditionally enjoyed.

The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” The institutions challenging the HHS mandate argue that it violates their right to free exercise because the mandate forces them to provide coverage for contraceptive services that conflict with their religious beliefs. HHS is allowing exemptions from the mandate for institutions that have as their primary purpose the inculcation of religious values and that mainly employ and serve people sharing the same religious beliefs as the institution. Essentially churches would appear to be the only religious institutions that meet HHS’s narrow definition of a “religion employer.” As Rev. Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities USA, has quipped, it is doubtful that the ministry of Jesus Christ would have qualified for HHS’s narrow definition of exempted religious services.

(Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: abortion-inducing drugs, Catholic Charities USA, contraceptive funding, first amendment, HHS mandate, sterilization

Thousands of Americans are gathering today at 160 locations across the United States to peacefully protest the federal government’s coercive trampling on religious liberty through the Health and Human Services (HHS) anti-conscience mandate.

Today’s Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rallies are a continuance of the events held on March 23 in front of capitols, historic sites, and even the HHS, where the offensive anti-conscience mandate originated.

The demand for protection of religious freedom evidenced in today’s rallies could not be more pressing. In less than eight weeks, the mandate will take effect, forcing all non-exempted employers to provide and pay for coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization—regardless of their religious or moral objections to such services.

(Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: abortifacients, contraceptives, funding, HHS mandate, rallies, religious liberty, sterilization

Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) has found a new ally in its fight against the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate’s coercive requirement that almost all employers, regardless of religious belief, provide and pay for coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization.

Earlier this month, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange moved to join the case to defend the rights of the Alabama-based network. Among other things, the State claims that “the mandate requires Alabama to regulate its health insurance market in a way that violates” various state and federal protections for religious freedom.

Attorney General Strange took to National Review Online last week to further explain his position on the mandate and denounce the rule’s coercive trampling on religious liberty.

(Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: abortion-inducing drugs, Alabama, anti-conscience rules, contraceptives, EWTN, HHS mandate