No, again

Bishops respond to latest version of mandate

The following excerpts come from an April 4 story by the Catholic News Agency.

Washington D.C., – The U.S. bishops said that the government’s latest recommendations on its federal contraception mandate fail to address religious freedom concerns.

In a March 29 memo, they said the mandate “still forces us to act against our conscience and teaching,” and that the only real solution is to allow individuals and institutions to offer insurance plans that align with their moral convictions….

A new advance notice of proposed rulemaking published by the Obama administration on March 21 outlines various recommendations for different ways to implement the mandate as it will apply to religious organizations that oppose the required coverage….

The proposals offered by the administration highlight several possible approaches to having a “third-party administrator” assume responsibility for the controversial coverage.
The suggestions included the use of funds from drug rebates, credit from a reinsurance program, aid from non-profit organizations and government contracts with insurers offering a multi-state plan….

However, the bishops cautioned that these proposals do nothing to change the administration’s narrow “test for deciding which organizations are ‘religious enough’ to warrant an exemption from the mandate.”

Instead, the new recommendations deal with religious organizations that do not qualify for the exemption and are therefore subject to the mandate.

The bishops reaffirmed their stance that “the government has no place defining religion and religious ministry” and that the current attempt to do so is unconstitutional….

The suggested provisions even allow for the possibility of groups such as Planned Parenthood to take on the task of intervening into family life, regardless of whether the parents consent to them doing so….

Click here for entire story.