Religion
Related: About this forumReligion And Birth Control: Not Just A GOP Fight
February 11, 2012
President Obama moved swiftly Friday to quell a politically perilous uproar involving two hot-button issues: birth control and religious institutions.
In January, the Obama administration announced that under its health care law, religiously affiliated institutions such as hospitals and schools would have to include birth control in their employees' health coverage.
All this week, Republicans on Capitol Hill bashed that policy as a violation of religious freedom, and some of the president's fellow Democrats added to the heat.
'An Accommodation'
When the White House first announced its birth control coverage policy, it said it would wait 18 months before making a final ruling on the issue. But by Friday, it was clear that issue had turned into a political brush fire that could do a lot of damage if not doused quickly.
http://www.npr.org/2012/02/11/146726642/religion-and-birth-control-not-just-a-gop-fight
Audio up at noon.
Jim__
(14,096 posts)I wonder what Obama will do now. I think he has to stand; otherwise he looks extremely weak. An excerpt:
In particular, the church leaders said they were concerned about the nationwide mandate imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services for coverage of sterilization and contraception, which raised a grave moral concern. It said the government should simply exempt self-insuring religious employers and religious insurance companies from the mandate.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)At any rate, I think this is all they are going to get and a brilliant solution to a difficult problem.