Planned Parenthood, the king (or queen) of the abortion business, endorsed Obama’s “accommodation” and his authoritative, government mandate that forces health insurance companies to pay for contraceptives.
“Institutions who serve the broad public, employ the broad public, and receive taxpayer dollars, should be required to follow the same rules as everyone else, including providing birth control coverage and information,” asserted Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards.
Richards’ comments reflect the core issue in the fight — whether progressives can use the power of the state to subordinate religious groups to their own priorities by defining religious groups as employers.
That’s a very controversial claim, however, and its opponents include an increasing number of Democrats and left-leaning churches, along with evangelicals, Catholics and supportive Republican legislators.
Like White House officials and many other Democrats, Richards tried to spin the fight as an effort by religious groups to deny contraceptives services to women.
And how exactly are religious groups denying contraceptive services to women? By not subsidizing them?
“In the face of a misleading and outrageous assault on women’s health, the Obama administration has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring all women will have access to birth control coverage, with no costly co-pays, no additional hurdles, and no matter where they work,” Richards added. “The birth control benefit underscores the fact that birth control is basic health care, and is fundamental to improving women’s health and the health of their families.”
The only surprise about the organization’s endorsement for Obama’s mandate is that contraceptives reduce abortion rates – and abortion, well, that’s Planned Parenthood’s bread and butter.
