Mirror of Justice

A blog dedicated to the development of Catholic legal theory.
Affiliated with the Program on Church, State & Society at Notre Dame Law School.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Will Catholic Charities have to cover contraceptives in all 50 states?

By Rob Vischer

I know a bit about the liberty of conscience, but I don't know much about how health insurance works, and I know even less about how health insurance will work under the new federal health care law.  Assuming that HHS adopts the Institute of Medicine's recommendations regarding mandatory coverage of contraceptives, what will that mean for a religious entity's ability to withhold coverage of contraceptives?  I know that most health plans will eventually fall under the requirements of the health care law, but will there be any sort of opt-out provision by which Catholic Charities could cover its employees with a plan that is exempt from the federal requirements, or are we now basically confronted with the same regime that California and Massachusetts imposed on Catholic Charities several years ago? 

https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2011/07/will-catholic-charities-have-to-cover-contraceptives-in-all-50-states.html

Vischer, Rob | Permalink

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Yes, it will be California/Mass for the nation, if your assumption holds, as it probably will.

If even abortion coverage is the norm, and the sole "conscience protection" there will be some accounting gimmicks, there's no way we'd win a fight over contraceptives. I don't know if much of the Church, or worse yet, Church-affiliated health-care entities and associations, would even fight. Look at how many backed Obama over the bishops on abortion itself.

Of course, if this comes from exec regs, then it can be undone by a new president with guts to do it, even if the statute won't be repealed or even signficantly revised.

Perhaps those who care should educate their fellow voters to make this issue of conscience matter in the next election, and maybe people will understand it's not just about abortion or just about Supreme Court appointments. Catholic identity and institutional independence are under attack as a broad regulatory matter.