Obama repackages same contraceptive rule, still violates religious liberty of institutions

Feb. 10, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today responded to Barack Obama’s decision to move forward with a controversial regulation requiring religious-affiliated employers to provide contraception in their plans:

“Despite overwhelming objections to his regulation, Obama has announced he is moving forward with his regulation forcing religious-affiliated employers like hospitals, schools, and charities to provide contraception in their plans without modification, giving them one year to figure out how to implement it. He is doing so based on the promise that he will issue a new regulation later this year that supposedly responds to the objections.

“But according to a White House fact sheet, that new regulation that has yet to be issued and is merely conceptual, would still require that religious-affiliated organizations’ insurance providers offer contraceptive coverage ‘free of charge’.

“The White House merely wants the religious institutions to pretend with them they are not funding this coverage, when the reality is they will be. This is unconscionable. Now the President is attempting to get religious institutions to be complicit in this lie, forcing his rule and will upon them. This is wrong and it must be rescinded immediately.

“The White House is claiming it will be paid for by the insurance companies themselves. But since the employees will not have to pay an additional premium for that coverage nor the religious-affiliated employers given a discount on their premiums to offset the costs, and the monies under the plans are fungible, the net effect will be that the religious institutions that are paying the premiums will still be paying for the contraceptives.

“As a result, it remains a violation of the First Amendment and an affront to religious liberty.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.