02-10-2012, 05:51 PM
President Barack Obama announced Friday that the administration will not require religious-affiliated institutions to cover birth control for their employees.
Instead, the White House is demanding that insurance companies be responsible for providing free contraception.
Women will still get guaranteed access to birth control without co-pays or premiums no matter where they work, a provision of Obama's health care law that he insisted must remain.
But religious universities and hospitals that see contraception as an unconscionable violation of their faith can refuse to cover it, and insurance companies will then have to step in to do so.
"Religious liberty will be protected," said Obama from the press briefing room of the White House. He said religious groups had "genuine concerns" about the original mandate and criticized those seeking to turn the issue into a "political football."
Instead, the White House is demanding that insurance companies be responsible for providing free contraception.
Women will still get guaranteed access to birth control without co-pays or premiums no matter where they work, a provision of Obama's health care law that he insisted must remain.
But religious universities and hospitals that see contraception as an unconscionable violation of their faith can refuse to cover it, and insurance companies will then have to step in to do so.
"Religious liberty will be protected," said Obama from the press briefing room of the White House. He said religious groups had "genuine concerns" about the original mandate and criticized those seeking to turn the issue into a "political football."