White House: Colleges Also Forced to Institute HHS Mandate

[juliee]

White House: Colleges Also Forced to Institute HHS Mandate

The White House announced today that colleges and universities will also be forced to join religious employers in instituting the new HHS mandate that requires them to provide coverage for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions.

lifenews.com/2012/03/16/white-house-colleges-also-forced-to-institute-hhs-mandate/

 

[Corki]

Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women.

B. Obama from his speech at Notre Dame.

Most of the epitets I would attribute to this man would get me in trouble with the mods.

 

[Gidras05]

What is going ON? He is watching America turn against him for the HHS Mandate, and now he’s seeking to make it worse? This… I don’t understand.

 

[_Abyssinia]

What is going ON? He is watching America turn against him for the HHS Mandate, and now he’s seeking to make it worse? This… I don’t understand.

I think the Obama admin is so arrogant they can think they can get away with the HHS mandate with any major repercussions - they are wrong.

 

[_Abyssinia]

**HHS Issues Statement Confirming Outlines of Contraception Mandate ‘Accommodation’ **

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had no formal response, but a statement from Sister Mary Ann Walsh, the conference spokeswoman, reflected Church leaders’ growing impatience with the administration’s handling of the controversy.

“I am surprised that such important information would be announced late Friday of St. Patrick’s Day Weekend and as we prepare for the fourth Sunday of Lent,” said Sister Mary Ann.

“The bishops will begin analyzing it immediately but now is too soon to know what it actually says. The bishops will consider how the proposal gels with the principles outlined in United for Religious Liberty, the statement that the USCCB Administrative Committee issued March 14.”

The administration has issued a number of statements related to the HHS contraception mandate on Friday afternoons, including the Jan. 20 approval of the final rule on the mandate, and the Feb. 10 “accommodation.” Friday afternoon press releases are a time-honored communications strategy for burying a controversial decision.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty’s Senior Counsel, Hannah Smith also questioned the timing of the latest HHS statement, but for a different reason. The administration has sought to dismiss the cases filed by the Becket Fund, a public interest group, arguing that the specifics of the “accommodation” will soon be worked out, thus eliminating the basis for the legal challenge.

“The timing of this announcement is also suspect. The Administration knew that the Becket Fund’s response to the government’s motion to dismiss will be filed in federal court on Monday. This delay tactic is designed to disrupt those arguments because the administration knows it won’t be able to answer them,” Smith said.

“We do not need any more rule making. We do not need any more comment periods. We already settled this with that one original rule: The First Amendment,” said Smith, in a statement released this afternoon.

…

“The Administration’s action is just another delay tactic,” said Smith. “It’s not that complicated. Grant a wide enough exemption to honor the conscience of millions of Americans. The First Amendment demands it.”

ncregister.com/daily-news/hhs-issues-statement-confirming-outlines-of-contraception-mandate-accommoda