In an effort to end an angry confrontation with the Catholic Church, President Obama said today that religious-affiliated hospitals and organizations will not have to offer insurance or pay for contraceptive coverage for their employees.
Obama, in a brief statement to reporters, said instead that insurance companies that cover the workers at hospitals or charities will have to pick up the costs for contraceptive coverage for women and not pass the cost on to the church organizations.
"The insurance company -- not the hospital, not the charity -- will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge, without co-pays and without hassles," Obama said.
"The result will be that religious organizations won't have to pay for these services and no religious institution will have to provide these services directly," Obama said. "But women who work at these institutions will have access to free contraceptive services."
By doing so, Obama modified a rule issued last month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that would have required religious-affiliated organizations to offer health insurance policies that paid for contraception.
That prompted an intense reaction from Catholic leaders who argued that the administration was trampling on their First Amendment religious rights. They said birth control pills and devices violated Catholic teachings.
With his move, Obama attempted to defuse an explosive political issue that was threatening his re-election chances in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and other states with a large number of Catholic voters. At the same time, Obama hoped to avoid a backlash from progressive organizations that enthusiastically supported the original rule.
It was unclear whether Obama's compromise would end the dispute. But Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, a leading House conservative, called the new plan "a fig leaf, not a compromise. Whether they are affiliated with a church or not, employers will still be forced to pay an insurance company for coverage that includes abortion-inducing drugs."
George Jones, a spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Columbus, said, "We really haven't had a chance to review the actual rule or the documents. We don't have any comment at this time. We would like to give it a more thorough review."
Earlier this week, House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, vowed that Congress would reverse the Obama administration's new rule, which he assailed as "an unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country," and insisted that it "will not stand."
