Obama Bows to Pressure, but His Religious ‘Accommodation’ Even Worse

Wow! Talk about making matters even worse. On Friday, reacting to national outrage over his Obamacare mandate which would force religious employers (such as hospitals and universities) to pay for services that are in direct opposition to the religious faith of the institution, Obama said… Hey! You guys don’t have to pay for it. I’ll force the insurance companies to cover it… at no cost to anyone. This is insane on so many levels…

Can someone… anyone… tell me how Obama fixed anything on Friday? He was forcing Catholic institutions to pay for services that conflict with the Catholic faith. Did he really think this was about the money? That Catholic leaders are upset that they had to shell out some bucks for abortive drugs, contraception, and sterilization procedures? Come on! Whether the institution is paying directly or the coverage is “paid for” by the insurance company is irrelevant. Obama is STILL forcing religious organizations to offer the services, only now it’s through the insurance company.

As noted at LifeNews.com, “the Obama administration has revised the mandate in a way that pro-life advocates are saying is even worse.”

The revised Obama mandate will make religious groups contract with insurers to offer birth control and the potentially abortion-causing drugs to women at no cost. The revised mandate will have religious employers refer women to their insurance company for coverage that still violates their moral and religious beliefs. Under this plan, every insurance company will be obligated to provide coverage at no cost.

Essentially, religious groups will still be mandated to offer plans that cover both birth control and the ella abortion drug

According to Obama administration officials on a conference call this morning, a woman’s insurance company “will be required to reach out directly and offer her contraceptive care free of charge. The religious institutions will not have to pay for it.”

The birth control and abortion-causing drugs will simply be “part of the bundle of services that all insurance companies are required to offer,” White House officials said.

The story notes that this “new rule” will go into effect on August 1, 2012. The Catholic church and other organizations originally had a year to comply, but that has been wiped away.

In addition, the far-reaching encroachment of the Obama administration into the area of freedom of religion has still not been addressed. The media quickly latched on to Obama’s talking points about framing this as a “birth control” issue. It’s NOT. It’s about Obama telling religious organizations what they must do. He’s still doing it, and it’s WRONG!

The LifeNews.com story quotes Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan as saying:

“This ObamaCare rule still tramples on Americans’ First Amendment right to freedom of religion. It’s a fig leaf, not a compromise. Whether they are affiliated with a church or not, employers will still be forced to pay an insurance company for coverage that includes abortion-inducing drugs,” he said. “This is not just a problem for church-affiliated hospitals and charities. Under these rules, a small business owner with religious objections to abortion-inducing drugs and contraception must either violate his religious beliefs or violate the law.”

“The liberal Obama administration thinks its political goals trump the religious faith of American citizens. That isn’t right, fair, or constitutional,” he said.

Here’s what Obama had to say:

Obama talks about basic principles, but what he’s really saying is that I’m going to force the taxpayers to pay for it, and I’m going to force religious organizations to cover it.

Not only this this a government overstep, but then there is this whole notion of “free of charge.” Nothing is free! Someone always has to pay. Now, it seems that we are paying for Obama’s policies not only with our tax dollars but with our loss of religious freedoms as well.

** Please circulate to your friends and colleagues and let them know that this battle is not over. Obama did not “fix” anything. His attack against religion goes on.