Will Obama Sell Out to the Bishops on Contraception Coverage ?

While Barack Obama - at least temporarily, and I'm not holding my breath as to how long the newly found spine will last - has shockingly shown backbone and said he will stand up to efforts by Republicans to rewrite the automatic spending cuts that will kick in in January 2013, there are fears that he will show no such backbone in standing up to the Catholic bishops who want to gut requirements that health insurance plans cover free contraception. As noted in a post yesterday, the USA has a embarrassingly high teen pregnancy rate compared to any other developed industrialized nation, the reason being, of course, that contraception is not freely available to many women and that failed Christianist backed abstinence only sex education is still too widely used in many areas. A post in Religion Dispatches looks at Obama's likely sell out to the bitter (and generally porcine) old men in dresses. The result, if this happens, will be more unwanted pregnancies and more abortions. Here are some highlights:

If the Administration does the Bishops' bidding, employers could choose to exclude from insurance coverage the free contraception, mandated by HHS guidelines issued under the Affordable Care Act, based on "religious conscience," even if the employer isn't a church.

Kristen Day issued a statement predicting that the administration would indeed decide to expand the exemption, so that even nominally religious employers could refuse to cover contraceptives. Note the confidence, from her statement: The Administration has no intention of forcing Catholic institutions to provide insurance coverage for services that are directly in opposition to their moral beliefs. It does not make any sense from a public policy perspective and it certainly is not smart politically to alienate Catholic voters.

[P]ro-choice advocates worry that Day's confidence (however out of step her views are with rank-and-file Catholics) is well-placed. They say they expect imminent action from the Obama Administration to broaden the exemption beyond churches and other houses of worship. That action could come as early as tomorrow[today].

David Nolan, a spokesperson for Catholics for Choice, told me today, "Obama's definitely listening to the bishops. . . . . The archbishop, Nolan emphasized, does not represent American Catholics, but rather is "the leader of 271 active bishops, and that's who he represents."

Catholics for Choice has launched a campaign urging its supporters to call the White House and express that "Catholics overwhelmingly reject the bishops’ views on contraception" and that it "is discriminatory to deny these women and men access to this important provision simply because the institution where they work or the school they attend is religiously affiliated." The ACLU has launched a similar campaign, arguing that religious freedom "does not mean that we get to impose those beliefs on others."

[I]f Obama does allow them to declare victory, it will set a dangerous precedent for the "religious liberty" claims of certain religious figures to stand in the way of people who do not share their religion, and in this case, even their co-religionists who challenge the leadership's orthodoxy. Like Catholic women over the age of 18 who are just as likely to have used contraception as the general population. All 98% of them.

Rather than kissing the bishops' very broad asses, Obama ought to be looking for ways to have those who were involved in sex abuse cover ups criminally prosecuted.