President Obama has heated up the controversy surrounding religion and birth control with his proposed federal rule to force church affiliated organizations to offer health plans covering birth control. Catholics in Syracuse appear to be following a Catholic trend of overall desiring to see this rule dropped. Gail Russell Chaddock has reported for the Christain Science Monitor "Catholic furor over birth control rule turns Democrats on one another."
The Obama administration's proposed rule requiring church-affiliated organizations to provide health insurance which covers contraception is creating problems. Obama is on the defensive and Democrats are divided over support for this controversial bill. And Senate Republicans have come up with an amendment which they want voted on as soon as possible.
This amendment, proposed by Rep. Roy Blunt (R) of Missouri would give employers the right to provide employees with health coverage “consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions,” without risk of federal penalties. Senator Blunt said in a floor speech on Thursday “This bill would just simply say that those health-care providers don’t have to follow that mandate if it violates their faith principles." This measure, which has been cosponsored by Sen. Ben Nelson (D) of Nebraska, raised an objection by Senate majority leader Harry Reid, which blocked a floor vote. Reid said “Republicans never lose an opportunity to mess up a good piece of legislation. They’re talking about a First Amendment right and I appreciate that,… but there’s no final rule. Why don’t we just calm down and see what the final rule is.”
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) which initially opposed the health-care reform bill in 2010 due to fears that abortions could be federally funded, has now called on Catholics across the nation to write to their elected representatives to protest the proposed rule. USCCB President and Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan has said “Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience.” And on Wednesday, Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio pledged to overturn the rule.
And although some Roman Catholic Democrats, such as Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, John Kerry of Massachusetts, and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, have called on the White House to back off the proposed rule, others who are also Roman Catholics, have been rallying around the president. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) of New York, said in a statement on Thursday “I am dumbfounded that in the year 2012 we still have to fight over birth control." Still, the Catholic Church remains a powerful force and the fight over this legislation is far from being settled.
