After a “closed, two-day meeting,” Catholic Bishops made their top priority defeating birth control coverage in the preventive care package of the Affordable Care Act. The Bishops released a statement yesterday saying that they wanted to protect “religious freedom” and that “this dispute is not about access to contraceptives but about the governments forcing the church to provide them.” The Obama Administration, in an accommodation, however, made clear that if a religiously-affiliated institute objects, the insurance company will provide the coverage directly to the employee or student without institutional involvement. The regulation requiring birth control coverage without co-pays or deductibles as a part of the preventive care package goes into effect August 2012.
Nevertheless, a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute indicated that 56 percent of people surveyed, including six in 10 Catholics, indicated that they do not believe that their religious liberty has been threatened. The study also found that “55% of Americans, including 58% of Catholics, agree that ‘employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost.’”
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops also announced plans to launch a broader campaign against state and local laws that they believe infringe on religious freedom, including restrictions limiting the rights of religious groups to use public schools as place of worship and those that limit religious organizations on college campuses.
In August 2011, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new guidelines, developed by the Institute of Medicine, that will require private insurance plans under the Preventive Care package of the Affordable Care Act beginning on or after August 1, 2012 to cover without co-pays or deductibles a variety of services, such as an annual well-woman visit and cancer screenings, counseling, such as for domestic and interpersonal violence, and testing for HIV and STIs, as well as all FDA-approved contraceptives, breastfeeding support, lactation services, and supplies.
USA Today 3/15/12; Washington Post 3/14/12; Statement of US Conference of Catholic Bishops 3/14/12; Feminist Daily Newswire 1/20/12, 1/31/12
1 comment
Blessed Oki says:
Mar 16, 2012
An abortion clinic has just being rocked by timed bomb, a lot of innocent people were maimed, nailed and buried because justice must be served on any woman that opted for abortion rather than delivery of her conceived child by the self appointed cleanser of sinners.
You know what, when Tamar was about to be stoned to death in Genesis 39, for being found pregnant while a widow, the men then seemed to be more honourable since, they gave her the opportunity to present her case and Judah was man enough to admit his responsibility while he defended her.
Between then and now, Manhood has come to neglect his responsibility yet, he oppresses Womanhood with partial judgement, for the impartial thing would be for the man to come forward and accept responsibility for the frequently aborted offspring.
On the contrary, to maintain a balanced scale of judgement rather than the current cowardice, the zealots itching to bomb the clinics should tackle the guilty men first, and have vasectomy done on such neglectful male factors before trailing helpless women.
Subsequently, we heard, saw, observed diverse debates and controversies about the pros and cons of abortion, while billions of money were invested and expended on a one sided issue since, pregnancy, the female and aftermath decisions were the target.
It has never occurred to humanity or rather it selectively slipped the macho thought process, that manhood should be held accountable through education, to prevent premarital as well as extramarital sexual activities.
We earnestly searched the Diaspora for a single female impregnated by herself or another female and found none, in truth, if a male juicy sperm is required for pregnancy, why is a deserted or neglected woman’s dilemma under attack. So, if you are not prepared to be a father, don’t plan to be a deserter after the effect rather, flee like Joseph, for why would you do so great a wickedness and sin against God and WoMan.
And, if manhood prefers to defy education through the demon of lust then, the incarceration along with the noble vasectomy of deserters, might proof an effective deterrent to samplers.
Although the women were wearied of being used as pawns and ping-pons balls, yet they forget to remember that, that boy or man who is a sneak[er], sampler, and deserter is the son, brother, father and uncle of a woman. And as often said, charity begins at home therefore, every female and mother figure, should drum the music of responsible treatment of fellows in skirts with apples chest, into every male’s auditory until it’s planted in the multi-pathway housed in the cranium, to ensure that intimacy and unions are treated sacredly.
Let us use a balanced scale by redirecting the focus from the effect, which is pregnancy, to the cause that would always be the man and woman, in essence, the axis should rotate on prevention and acceptance of responsibility.
If these plans were implemented, then unplanned, unwanted and terminated pregnancies would be nibbled at the base and cause abortion to dwindle to finger counts per billions.
excerpt from ‘freedom parkway’ page 129 -131