Every few weeks, opponents of birth control manage to garner some media attention by objecting – again – to the federal contraceptive coverage rule, which ensures that millions of women will have affordable insurance coverage for contraception without extra out-of-pocket costs. But time after time, it’s just more of the same.
By Andrew Beck, Reproductive Freedom Project at 12:27pm
Once again the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has attempted to impose its religious beliefs on those who don't share them. This time, they did so in an attempt to deny victims of human trafficking access to reproductive health services in a federally funded program.
Fortunately, late Friday night, a federal judge ruled that religion isn't a license to discriminate and that the government cannot award a contract to an organization that denies services to trafficking victims based on the organization's religious beliefs.
Laura Murphy of our Washington Legislative Office appeared to discuss the Obama administration’s plan to retain a proposed rule that ensures new insurance plans cover contraception.
Earlier this week, Michael Gerson’s disregard for the health of women and their families appeared once again on the pages of the Washington Post.
The affront? The administration’s announcement that all new health insurance plans — except those held by churches and other houses of worship — will need to include coverage for birth control because it’s essential preventive health care for women.
Today, the Obama administration announced that it would keep in place a proposed rule that ensures that new insurance plans include contraception coverage.
This week, the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops is holding its annual meeting in Baltimore. The bishops are the lobbying arm of the Catholic church, and they hold substantial sway over lawmakers. But instead of focusing on issues like poverty or the economy, the bishops are instead complaining loudly that recent laws broadening women’s access to contraception and granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry amount to an assault on their religion.
