Next Republican Obamacare Attack: Contraception
“It boils down to conscience protections that basically become compromised on the first of January, and that’s bothersome to a lot of people,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
“It concerns a lot of people in our conference that a provision of the Affordable Care Act goes into effect and that is a violation of the conscious beliefs of a lot of members of our party.”
Womack was referring to the expiration of a “safe harbor” for religiously affiliated institutions on Jan. 1 under the contraception mandate.
At that time, a modified version of the policy will take effect for religious groups like Catholic schools that object to contraception.
The modified policy will allow the employees of religious institutions to obtain free birth control directly from their insurance company.
The institutions themselves will not have to “contract, arrange, pay or refer for contraceptive coverage,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Critics say the policy still does not go far enough to protect groups that oppose contraception.
Asked if ObamaCare’s individual mandate also played a role in pushing the Dec. 15 timeline, Womack said, “I think it’s mainly conscience.”
Republicans are preparing to attack the parts of Obamacare that deliver reproductive services to women. Yes, another war on women by the GOP.
