His order brought cheers from supporters who called the guarantee of free contraception a bedrock health issue for women.
But it did not immediately satisfy critics, including Republicans, some moderate Democrats and Roman Catholic bishops, who stressed that they need to see the final plan to make sure that Catholic institutions are not forced to provide health insurance that covers practices the church preaches against.
“The devil, as they say, is in the details,” said Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski.
Under fire from the bishops and others, Obama said he was changing the policy that was announced by his administration last month as part of implementing the 2010 health-care law.
As initially written, it would have required all insurance plans nationwide to cover preventive health care for women with no co-payments, including such services as mammograms as well as contraception.
It exempted churches from having to provide coverage they oppose, but it would not have exempted other Catholic institutions, such as hospitals. Opponents said that was government overreaching that threatened freedom of religion, and Obama yielded on Friday.
Obama still defended the broad mandate as common sense and a long-term money saver.
“In addition to family planning, doctors often prescribe contraception as a way to reduce the risks of ovarian and other cancers, and treat a variety of different ailments,” he said. “And we know that the overall cost of health care is lower when women have access to contraceptive services.”
But he said he would tweak the policy to preserve religious liberty. Rather than requiring religious organizations to provide the insurance, a power granted by the health-care law, he said he’d order insurance companies to provide supplemental coverage for contraception, at no cost to the religious organization or the woman.
“Religious organizations won’t have to pay for these services, and no religious institution will have to provide these services directly,” he said.
Groups such as Planned Parenthood praised the revised order for preserving free access to contraception for all women, including those who work for Catholic institutions.
“Those institutions who serve the broad public, employ the broad public and receive taxpayer dollars should be required to follow the same rules as everyone else, including providing birth control coverage and information,” said Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
(McClatchy Newspapers)
