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Feds Keep Contraceptive Mandate
Special Report - January 23, 2012
Despite thousands of complaints and two lawsuits, a federal mandate requiring public and private group health plans to cover “all FDA-approved” contraceptives will not exempt religious hospitals and universities, according to an announcement made Friday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). In the statement released January 20, Secretary of DHHS Kathleen Sebelius, said that, beginning August 2012, the majority of “new and renewed health plans will be required to cover” preventive health services for women, including “all FDA-approved forms of contraception.” Although the mandate includes a religious exemption for religious institutions, such as churches, “whose purpose is to instill religious values and that employ and serve only individuals of their same faith,” concerns have been raised that it is not broad enough to cover other religious organizations, such as universities, colleges and hospitals. Secretary Sebelius acknowledged the “concerns some have raised about religious liberty,” but added that she believed the final rule “strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services.” She noted that the exemption for “certain religious institutions,” specifically churches, will remain in the final rule, but that “nonprofit employers who, based on their religious beliefs, do not currently provide contraceptive coverage in their insurance plan” will be forced to comply with the mandate, beginning August 2013. In order to receive the one-year delay for compliance, religious non-profits must “certify that they qualify.”
As we have previously reported, the mandate is the subject of two lawsuits filed against the government by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty on behalf of colleges in North Carolina and Colorado. Both Belmont Abbey College near Charlotte and Colorado Christian University have filed separate but related lawsuits, alleging that the mandate forces them to violate their religious beliefs by forcing them to pay for contraceptive services, including abortifacients, such as “Plan B,” in their group health insurance plans. In a press release, Hannah Smith, Senior Legal Counsel for The Becket Fund, called the announcement, “a shameless attempt to kick the can down the road in an election year.” She added that, “Religious colleges, universities, and hospitals will never pay for abortion drugs in violation of their religious beliefs--this year or any other year.”
Related resources:
Evangelical College Joins Contraceptive Challenge - December 29, 2011
College Challenges Contraceptive Mandate - November 14, 2011
Administration Requires Free Contraception- August 4, 2011
Becket Fund Defends Belmont Abbey - October 12, 2009
Federal Agency Mandates Abortion Coverage - August 17, 2009
Copyright © 2012. North Carolina Family Policy Council. All rights reserved.
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