Protection of Conscience Project News
Service, not Servitude
Spokesmen for the Obama administration have stated that the President is committed to the policy of forcing universal insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. The administration opposes the passage protection of conscience legislation like S2092 -the Religious Freedom Protection Act of 2012, S2043 -the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012, and S1467 – Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011. [Washington Post; Reuters]
The Archbiship of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, has described the Obama administration’s plan to force universal insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs an “aggressive attack on religious freedom in our country.” He warns that debate about the details of the plan and the administration’s promises of accommodation, while useful, risk obscuring that fundamental issue. Reflecting on a pattern of prejudicial conduct of the administration, he suggest that it is “to put it generously – tone deaf to people of faith.” [philly.com]
President Barack Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a news conference today and promised to revise a regulation that has ignited a firestorm of protest across the United States. However, the details provided in the White House “Fact Sheet” suggest that the administration is simply reaffirming the existing regulation while making a promise work with objecting institutions to find a compromise during a one-year grace period. This is essentially what Secretary Sebelius announced on 20 January. What is new is the suggestion that coverage might be offered by insurance companies without the active participation of employers who object. When developing the proposal, the administration did not consult with the Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has been the most determined and vociferous critic of the regulation.
The proposal was not published in the United States Federal Register on 10 February, as promised by the White House “Fact Sheet”.
The Catholic Medical Association states that the proposed accommodation being offerd by the Obama administration to employers who object to providing insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs “appears to fall far short of addressing the fatal flaws in the original rule.” [CMA news release]
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a statement responding to President Obama’s announcement that the HHS regulation that stirred a firestorm of protest will be modified. The bishops note that they were not consulted by the administration, that the details of promised modification are unclear, and that it will require “careful moral analysis”. However, based on their initial understanding of the proposal, they state that it “continues to involve needless government intrusion in the internal governance of religious institutions, and to threaten government coercion of religious people and groups to violate their most deeply held convictions.” They insist that only the revocation of the HHS mandate will afford “the only complete solution to this religious liberty problem.” [USCCB statement]