Kathleen Sebelius defends contraception rule
The rule doesn't affect a 'woman’s freedom to decide not to use birth control,' Sebelius said. | AP Photo
By TIM MAK | 2/6/12 6:33 AM EST
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius argued Monday that a new rule that requires many religious employers to cover birth control in employee health plans respects those with “deeply held beliefs opposing the use of birth control.”
“We specifically carved out from the policy religious organizations that primarily employ people of their own faith. This exemption includes churches and other houses of worship and could also include other church-affiliated organizations,” wrote Sebelius in an op-ed in USA Today
Sebelius also noted that the rule continues to protect “conscience protections” that allow doctors to decline to provide prescriptions for contraception.
“It’s important to note that our rule has no effect on the longstanding conscience clause protections for providers, which allow a Catholic doctor, for example, to refuse to write a prescription for contraception. Nor does it affect an individual woman’s freedom to decide not to use birth control. And the president and this administration continue to support existing conscience protections,” the HHS secretary wrote.
The Obama administration has been taking fire on this issue during the past two-and-a-half weeks.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida introduced legislation in late January that would greatly expand the ability of religious and faith-based organizations to opt out of the requirement to provide employees with insurance coverage that includes birth control.
“This is a common-sense bill that simply says the government can’t force religious organizations to abandon the fundamental tenets of their faith because the government says so,” Rubio said in a statement at the time.
“We specifically carved out from the policy religious organizations that primarily employ people of their own faith. This exemption includes churches and other houses of worship and could also include other church-affiliated organizations,” wrote Sebelius in an op-ed in USA Today
The policy put forward by the Obama administration exempts Catholic churches but doesn’t carve out other religious institutions such as Catholic hospitals and universities.
Sebelius stressed that 28 states already require contraception to be covered by insurance, a point that Obama administration has been making in recent days to defend their policy.Sebelius also noted that the rule continues to protect “conscience protections” that allow doctors to decline to provide prescriptions for contraception.
“It’s important to note that our rule has no effect on the longstanding conscience clause protections for providers, which allow a Catholic doctor, for example, to refuse to write a prescription for contraception. Nor does it affect an individual woman’s freedom to decide not to use birth control. And the president and this administration continue to support existing conscience protections,” the HHS secretary wrote.
The Obama administration has been taking fire on this issue during the past two-and-a-half weeks.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida introduced legislation in late January that would greatly expand the ability of religious and faith-based organizations to opt out of the requirement to provide employees with insurance coverage that includes birth control.
“This is a common-sense bill that simply says the government can’t force religious organizations to abandon the fundamental tenets of their faith because the government says so,” Rubio said in a statement at the time.
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