Lawmakers weigh in on federal contraception rule
The Columbus Dispatch - February 06, 2012 15:02 PM
Ohio lawmakers have begun stepping into the fray in a fight between the Catholic church and the Obama administration over whether Catholic employers, such as hospitals run by the Catholic church, should be ordered to pay for employees' contraception.
Sen. Rob Portman today sent a four-page letter to Attorney General Eric Holder expressing his dismay about a provision in President Obama’s health care law that would force religious organizations to participate in coverage of medical services at odds with their religious beliefs. Organizations that don’t provide such services would be ordered to pay fines.
Portman, a Republican, cited a 1993 law signed by President Clinton that requires the government to “reasonably accommodate” religious beliefs and practices that conflict with general regulation. He said that the regulation forcing religious schools, hospitals and charities to provide birth control violates the 1993 law. In his letter, Portman urges Holder to advise the Department of Health and Human Services that the regulation is unlawful.
Meanwhile, Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, introduced a bill Friday that would repeal the mandate. In a statement, he said he was “disgusted that the Obama administration would ignore the fundamental beliefs of our faith-based institutions and cram yet another mandate down our throats.”
Back in the state, the Catholic Conference of Ohio praised the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate for pursuing concurrent resolutions decrying the regulation.
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