Washington D.C., Jan 30, 2023 / 17:15 pm (CNA).
The Biden administration Monday announced a proposal to eliminate employers’ ability to object to the Obamacare contraceptives mandate on moral grounds.
This change only proposes rescinding the moral objection exemption, not the religious exemption. The 2020 Supreme Court case Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania guaranteed that religious employers objecting to contraceptives on religious grounds would not be forced to provide birth control in contradiction to their beliefs.
The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department estimated that the proposed rule change would impact more than 100 employers and 125,000 employees, CNN reported.
While retaining the religious exemption policy, the Biden administration proposal would create a new way for employees of religiously objecting employers to obtain contraception with no out-of-pocket costs.
The Biden administration’s proposal states that workers of employers with religious objections will be able to obtain contraception “without any involvement on the part of an objecting entity.” Under the proposal, an insurance provider providing free birth control services would be “reimbursed for its costs by entering into an arrangement with an issuer on a Federally-facilitated Exchange or State Exchange on the Federal platform.”
The pathway to obtain free contraception also will be available to students at universities with religious objections, the proposal states.
Under the Trump administration, the Obamacare policy was amended to allow employers with religious or moral objections to contraception to opt out of offering it in their insurance policies without penalty.
The Biden administration’s change won’t take effect until the completion of a 60-day public comment period, which is set to begin Feb. 2 once the proposal is filed in the Federal Register.
Kristi Hamrick, chief media and policy strategist for the pro-life group Students for Life of America, told CNA that the proposal was part of “a vicious cycle with life-and-death implications” and that the Biden administration is “ignoring Constitutional rights of conscience that should be protected.”
“Students for Life of America does not take a position against birth control per se,” she said. “We oppose forcing people to buy or fund drugs and devices against their beliefs, such as nuns, and we oppose forcing people to pretend that abortifacients mislabeled as contraception should also be paid for.”
The rule proposal comes as the Biden administration has vowed to expand access to both birth control and abortion in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which overturned nationwide legalized abortion, freeing states to regulation abortion as they see fit. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tweeted that it “is committed to protecting & expanding access to reproductive health care, including abortion & contraception.”
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That this guy is STILL allowed to receive Communion is a scandal of the highest measure, and a black mark against the church hierarchy at all levels. He and his creepy minions cant seem to mind their own business, and insist on inserting themselves into Americans personal business. Frankly I think it would be more important for employers to pay for DENTAL care than birth control. Dental care impacts ALL employees. If a need for paid birth control is your big thing, there are THOUSANDS of US employers who will provide it. Apply for work there. Or buy it yourself, nobody is stopping you and condoms are readily available and not that expensive.Why is an employee’s sex life any concern of an employer? Pregnancy is not a disease. If one is uninterested in pregnancy, some sound advice would be to keep your pants on. This is the same smarmy political crowd attempting to force Christian bakers to do their bidding. Disgusting.
Condoms are free at our state’s public health departments.
My younger brother died from a bacterial infection that probably originated in a bad tooth he couldn’t afford to have treated. He had no dental insurance. The infection went into his heart.
Dental care is very important and the lack thereof can affect more than your teeth.
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your brother. What an awful loss for you, and from an unexpected source. I have never understood why dental insurance is often specifically excluded from major health policies. Why this specific item? It is more expensive in general to treat heart disease or cancers. Its worth noting that some dentists will permit a patient to pay for a procedure over time or in steps if it is a complicated and/or expensive procedure. Especially if the person has been a patient for a long time and they know them. Its at least worth an inquiry rather than neglect a health matter that could become life threatening, as you have pointed out.
Has there been any reactiom from the bishops? If one comes eventually, it will be some bland lament hardly worth making. To repeat: By their refusal to confront (even verbally!) and discipline this moral monster, the American bishops and the Vatican will surely seal their fates on Judgement Day.