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Catholic furor over birth control rule turns Democrats on one another (The Christian Science Monitor)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:20:10 +0000

Washington – So what does contraception at a Catholic hospital or college have to do with a $109 billion highway bill?

Nothing, it would seem. nbsp;

But US senators can propose amendments on any subject. And the Obama administration’s proposed rule requiring church-affiliated organizations to provide health insurance that covers contraception has turned toxic.

Election 101: Where the GOP candidates stand on abortion and other social issues

It has thrown the White House back on defense after a rare spike of good economic news. It’s also dividing Democratic ranks at a time when both the White House and top Democratic leaders are urging a display of unity.

And that brings us back to the highway bill.

Senate Republicans wanted to get a vote on the matter as soon as possible. The amendment, proposed by Rep. Roy Blunt (R) of Missouri, would allow employers the right to provide employees with health coverage “consistent with their religious beliefs

Catholic group backs Obama birth control policy (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:20:09 +0000

WASHINGTON – The White House has support from a key Catholic health group on its compromise birth control policy.

Sister Carol Keehan heads the Catholic Health Organization. She says the compromise “has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed.”

Senior administration officials tell The Associated Press the compromise policy says religious employers won’t have to cover birth control for their employees, after all.

Instead, insurance companies will be directly responsible for providing free contraception.

Keehan says the resolution “protects the religious liberty and conscience rights of Catholic institutions.”

And Planned Parenthood Federation of America says the approach “does not compromise a woman’s ability to access these critical birth control benefits.”

Obama shift seeks to defuse birth-control fight (Reuters)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:20:01 +0000

(Reuters) – President Barack Obama, in an abrupt policy shift aimed at quelling an election-year firestorm, announced on Friday that religious employers would not be required to offer free birth control to workers and the onus would instead be put on insurers.

But Catholic Church leaders and Obama’s Republican opponents, who had railed against the Democratic president’s new rule on contraceptives as a violation of religious freedom, signaled that divisions remain over the hot-button social issue.

The compromise by the Obama administration sought to accommodate religious organizations, such as Catholic hospitals and universities, outraged by a new rule that would have required them to offer free contraceptive coverage to women employees.

Instead, the new approach puts the burden on insurance companies, ordering them to provide workers at religious-affiliated institutions with free family planning if they request it, without involving their employer at all, the White House said.

“Religious liberty will be protected, and a

Catholic furor over birth control rule turns Democrats on one another (The Christian Science Monitor)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:19:38 +0000

Washington – So what does contraception at a Catholic hospital or college have to do with a $109 billion highway bill?

Nothing, it would seem. nbsp;

Election 101: Where the GOP candidates stand on abortion and other social issues

And that brings us back to the highway bill.

Catholic group backs Obama birth control policy (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:19:33 +0000

WASHINGTON – The White House has support from a key Catholic health group on its compromise birth control policy.

Sister Carol Keehan heads the Catholic Health Organization. She says the compromise “has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed.”

Senior administration officials tell The Associated Press the compromise policy says religious employers won’t have to cover birth control for their employees, after all.

Instead, insurance companies will be directly responsible for providing free contraception.

Keehan says the resolution “protects the religious liberty and conscience rights of Catholic institutions.”

And Planned Parenthood Federation of America says the approach “does not compromise a woman’s ability to access these critical birth control benefits.”

Obama shift seeks to defuse birth-control fight (Reuters)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:19:31 +0000

“Religious liberty will be protected, and a

Under fire, Obama adjusts his birth control policy (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:19:28 +0000

WASHINGTON – Under fierce election-year fire, President Barack Obama on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organizations must pay for birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furor raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes. He demanded that insurance companies step in to provide the coverage instead.

Obama’s compromise means ultimately that women would still get birth control without having to pay for it, no matter where they work. The president insisted he had stuck by that driving principle even in switching his approach, and the White House vehemently rejected any characterization that Obama had retreated under pressure.

Yet there was no doubt that Obama had found himself in an untenable position. He needed to walk back fast and find another route to his goal.

The controversy over contraception and religious liberty was overshadowing his agenda, threatening to alienate key voters and giving ammunition to the Republicans

Obama shift seeks to defuse birth-control fight (Reuters)

Editor - Religion News — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:19:26 +0000

“Religious liberty will be protected, and a

Under fire, Obama adjusts his birth control policy (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:19:22 +0000

WASHINGTON – Under fierce election-year fire, President Barack Obama on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organizations must pay for free birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furor raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes. He demanded that insurance companies step in to provide the coverage instead.

Yet there was no doubt that Obama had found himself in an untenable position. He needed to walk back fast and find another route to his goal.

The controversy over contraception and religious liberty was overshadowing his agenda, threatening to alienate key voters and giving ammunition to the

Catholic group backs Obama birth control policy (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:20:15 +0000

WASHINGTON – The White House has support from a key Catholic health group on its compromise birth control policy.

Sister Carol Keehan heads the Catholic Health Organization. She says the compromise “has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed.”

Senior administration officials tell The Associated Press the compromise policy says religious employers won’t have to cover birth control for their employees, after all.

Instead, insurance companies will be directly responsible for providing free contraception.

Keehan says the resolution “protects the religious liberty and conscience rights of Catholic institutions.”

And Planned Parenthood Federation of America says the approach “does not compromise a woman’s ability to access these critical birth control benefits.”