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Boehner says Congress will reverse Obama contraceptive rule

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By Jack Torry, Washington Bureau Updated 8:25 AM Thursday, February 9, 2012

WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner vowed Wednesday that Congress would reverse the Obama administration’s new rule requiring religious affiliated hospitals and schools to offer contraceptives in their insurance plans to their employees.

In a brief speech on the House floor, Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., assailed the rule as “an unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country,’’ and insisted it “will not stand.’’

Boehner, a Catholic who attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati, charged that the Obama administration “has drifted dangerously beyond its constitutional boundaries.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who also is from Cincinnati, announced last month that under the new health care law championed by President Barack Obama, all Catholic hospitals and schools, like any other employer, must pay for plans that provide for contraceptives, such as the birth control pill and the Plan B morning after pill.

Although the Catholic Church itself is exempt, church-affiliated hospitals and universities would face federal fines if they did not follow the new rule. The rule has prompted an uproar among Catholic officials, who argue that the church opposes the use of contraceptives. Catholics are a major voting bloc in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan — three states key to Obama’s re-election hopes.

There are nearly half a million Catholics in southwest Ohio, according to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

“I think Speaker Boehner correctly identified this as a First Amendment issue,” said Steve Trosley, an archdiocesan spokesman and Catholic Telegraph editor. “The Archbishop (Dennis Schnurr) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops believe the rules strike at Catholics fundamental right to religious liberty.”

“In our faith, we’re very focused on the sanctity of life,” he said. “We view contraception, abortion and euthaniasia as evils against the sanctity of life... We see this as violation of the First Amendment to practice our faith. Matters of faith are not matters for compromise.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that the White House wants “to work with all these organizations to implement this policy in a way that is as sensitive to their concerns as possible. But let’s be clear. We are committed — the president is committed — to ensuring that women have access to contraception without paying any extra costs no matter where they work.’’

Kathy Wyenandt, who chairs the Butler County Democratic Central Committee, said that teen pregnancy and abortion rates are the lowest since 1972.

“We can attribute this to access to effective forms of contraception which has been proven to be a best practice in reducing unwanted pregnancies and abortions,” she said. “Access to effective forms of contraception is critical.”

Wyenandt said the new rule is “absolutely not” an attack on religious freedom.

“People still have individual choice and having access to something is important,” she said.

Boehner said the House Energy and Commerce Committee would consider a bill that would deal with “this flawed rule.’’ Although the Republicans can probably push a bill through the full House, it would face staunch opposition from the Democratic-controlled Senate.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 28 states have laws requiring insurers offering prescription drug coverage to provide contraceptive drugs or devices. Of those, 15 have fairly broad exemptions. Ohio does not require contraceptive coverage.

Staff Writers Ed Richter and Mary McCarty contributed to this report.

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