HHS gives religious groups more time to comply with birth control coverage rule

CBS

The Obama administration on Friday announced that most employers will be required to cover contraception in their health insurance plans, including nonprofit employers who currently don't cover birth control because of religious affiliations.

Last August, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopted interim rules requiring employers to cover a range of preventive services for women, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine, without charging a co-pay, co-insurance or a deductible. That included birth control coverage, though the decision exempted certain religious employers.

Today's updated rule still exempts houses of worship like churches or synagogues, but other nonprofits will religious affiliations will have to comply. Most employers will have until August 1, 2012 to meet the rule, but religiously-affiliated nonprofits will have an extra year.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement the decision came after careful consideration of various concerns, including religious liberty.

"I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services," she said. "The administration remains fully committed to its partnerships with faith-based organizations, which promote healthy communities and serve the common good."'

Sebelius noted in her statement that birth control is the most commonly taken drug in America by young and middle-aged women and is known to significantly reduce health costs.

Advocates for reproductive rights praised today's decision.

"Birth control is not just basic health care for women, it is an economic concern," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. "This common sense decision means that millions of women, who would otherwise pay $15 to $50 a month, will have access to affordable birth control, helping them save hundreds of dollars each year."

[gjcaudera]

I think you all are missing something here. It's not just birth control but federally funded abortions and other issues. The Church's vocal arguments against the Obama admin are centered upon an HHS Dept requirement that employers must include contraception and ABORTION-INDUCING DRUGS in health-care coverage. I for one do not want to pay for someone else's abortion. Do you? They cost between $300 to $900. I'm Catholic and believe that life begins at conception and that right off the bat you have a tiny human being who is unable to defend itself, therefore, I am against abortion. I know many people are pro-abortion but that's their prerogative just as it is mine to be anti-abortion. This is a free country, at least for now, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion without someone else's being shoved down their throat. The Obama administration needs to stay out of the business of mandating laws. They already forced the Health Care Bill down our throats. The man is not a Dictator, although I believe he wants to be.

Besides the drug-inducing abortions, there are other ways to have an abortion. The most common is called aspiration. It is also known as vacuum aspiration and is usually used up to 16 weeks after a woman's last period. At 16 weeks the women is 4 months pregnant and there has been a heart beat for quite a while. A suction tube is inserted into the womb. A powerful vacuum tears the placenta from the uterus and dismembers the body of the developing child, sucking the pieces into an attached jar. I would think there would be a tremendous amount of pain for that baby.

Since his election, Obama -- who acknowledges his respect for those who oppose abortion -- has reiterated his belief in both choice and unintended pregnancy prevention, reaffirming his support for Roe v. Wade and Prevention First????? "If [Obama] makes a sharp left here [on abortion and gay marriage], it will be difficult for him to get as many votes this time around. He promised to govern from the center and is dividing us on wedge issues." The man cannot be trusted.

I'm sorry to be so serious but this is a serious problem that needs to be resolved.

[noloyalisti]

Have these fools realized how severe our overpopulation problem is? Do they not understand the facts about man made global climate change? Are we purposefully making ourselves stupid and ignorant?

[ProgressNow]

Yes...that right; force birth control on churches and then tax their assszzzss!

[ProgressNow]

P.S. God and Superman are both dead.

[Zann-Zel]

Well I should think even the "right" should be happy about this!

More birth control = less abortions.
More birth control = less mouths to feed/less food stamps, less welfare!

But then again this is giving women more control over their own lives and I know how much the "right" hates that!

[mingregct]

Zann

No one is trying to control anyone. The statement you made is very assinine and without merit or truth. With that said, the only control I see is the federal government trying to control those with differing viewpoints based on religious affliation. This is not the roleof the government. This is tryanny and a revolt against liberty. I don't want the government dictating this kind of rule over liberty. Birth control is an individual's right to choose and use. It is not at the hand of the government.

[retm-w]

mingregct

Not according to Sanatorum, he wants the government to ban birth control.