Obama Shifts Contraception Policy: 'Religious Liberty Will Be Protected'

Obama announces change in contraceptive policy

Published February 10, 2012 | FoxNews.com

President Obama on Friday backed off a plan requiring religious organizations to provide free contraceptive coverage, shifting the responsibility to insurers in a move he claimed would preserve religious liberty as well as "basic fairness" for women who want the coverage.

The announcement comes after a contentious week of debate in Washington and across the country about the rule, which stems from the federal health care overhaul. Religious groups, particularly Catholic organizations, decried the policy, while lawmakers on both sides of the aisle charged it was an infringement of religious freedom.

But supporters defended the intent of the policy -- to make sure women at all income levels have access to birth control no matter where they work.

It's unclear whether the change will satisfy critics. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, called it a "fig leaf, not a compromise."

But Obama said the issue should not be treated as a "political wedge."

"Under the rule, women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services, no matter where they work -- that core principle remains," Obama said. But he added, "Religious organizations won't have to pay for these services and no religious institution will have to provide these services directly."

The change would allow religious organizations to refuse to cover contraceptive care. It would also require insurers to offer a plan that does not include contraceptive care in their contracts with nonprofit religious groups. But the insurers would be required to make contraception available free of charge to women anyway.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reacts to Pres. Obama's statement on Fox News

Advisers stressed that the announcement was an "accommodation" and not a "compromise." Administration officials say the many media accounts of the internal deliberations have been "over-dramatized." Obama said the debate over the issue effectively sped up a discussion that was already happening on how to proceed.

A Fair and Balanced Debate on the Contraception Mandate