Congrats to the Right Wing! "Bishops Want Businesses Exempt From Birth Control Coverage"

Whats the term i'm looking for here....

Slippery Slope?

Now that Catholics have gotten President Obama to cave on this birth control drama - they want more!

www.care2.com...

Despite the White House’s efforts, Anthony Picarello, general counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, drew a line in the sand on Thursday and said that the Obama administration has offered “all talk, no action” about any sort of compromise. The bishops are now demanding that the contraception rule be removed from the health care law, arguing that it is not enough just to change it for Catholic employers and their insurers. As Picarello summed the matter up:

“If I quit this job and opened a Taco Bell, I’d be covered by the mandate.”

According to Picarello, woe to the Catholic business owners who find themselves having to comply with federal law and provide insurance coverage for contraception for their employees.

WHERE WILL THIS END?

The article goes on:

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) responded to the bishops’ announcement with a statement that makes it clear that the fight about the contraception rule is not, as GOP politicians and Catholic leaders have been claiming, about “religious freedom.” It is an “ideological political issue” to exempt all businesses — all private businesses, from Taco Bell to Target — from providing birth control for their employees. Says Gillibrand:

“I am dumbfounded that in the year 2012 we still have to fight over birth control. It is sad that we have to stand here yet again to fight back against another overreach and intrusion into women’s lives.

“This is what it is – a political overreach to roll back access to birth control – not a religious issue. The fact they want to exempt all businesses from providing contraceptive care is just outrageous.

Obama may back down from his regulation requiring the Church to go against it's conscience by requiring it to support contraception. This article simply points out that if Obama is giving a "Conscience Clause" exemption to Churches, he should give an exemption to everyone who has a conscience problem with it.

Whatever solution Obama finds for covering the Catholic hospital workers, he could apply the same solution to any worker.

Fine and dandy that the Catholic church assumed it had won and naturally seek for more, as they had often done for centuries.

Thing is, what would happen when an american citizen turns up at a public funded hospital seeking for abortion, or a non catholic student seeking secular education at a public funded college, or a non-catholic employee seeking for medical assistance from her employer?

Turn them away? Is this Christian charity, the way the Messiah had taught and HEALED, central to his mission, when he was amongst mankind whom many were even pagans seeking for salvation and help? Let those in need suffer, to find distance shores to solve their mistakes?

Or will the pious and hypocrites within the Catholic church denounce those americans as apostate, excommunicate them and then burn them at the stake as in times past?

May the True Christians amongst catholics, if any are left in our world, reflect upon themselves, on the demands they are making upon the world. Everyone seeks for a better life, closer to our Creator, to recieve His blessings, but we are only flawed mortals. We learn only after making mistakes and with better compassionate counselling than fire and brimestone.

Zealotry and religious discrimination have no place in the 21st Century. Have the catholic church learnt nothing, more so with its much fortunate continued existance at the mercy of a more forgiving heavily Protestant sovereign american society and totally secular gov that believes in the passage of time for better societal change than authoritarianism as practiced by the minority Catholic church upon society?

It looks like Obamacare will end up with more exceptions and waivers that users.

The old system was better except for a few points only.

Pre-existing conditions need to be insured if someone wants it and does not have a job that covers.

But paying for it might be a problem if someone can't qualify for medicaid.

And I though some companies did offer coverage, unless I am confusing that with insurance at the job.

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101

Dear SeekerofTruth101,

Let's search for truth. I don't know of a better occupation.

[W]what would happen when an american citizen turns up at a public funded hospital seeking for abortion

If it's a Catholic hospital and it's a life-or-death situation, she gets the abortion. It's always been that way. Do you mean that the Bishops' proposal would end abortions in the US? I'm not sure I understand how that would happen, would you explain, please?

or a non catholic student seeking secular education at a public funded college

There's no problem now. Obama is proposing a change in the current situation, not the Bishops. I don't see why it would change.

or a non-catholic employee seeking for medical assistance from her employer?

Same answer as the above two. Currently the Church is paying for health care for non-catholic employees. It just isn't paying for contraception for any of its employees.

Nobody gets turned away. What are you saying? Pregancy is a disease that the Messiah would heal? Turn them away? Where do you get this?

If a pregnancy is a mistake, then a way to heal it is to have the baby, put it up for adoption and learn from the "mistake."

Please explain yourself, I must be missing something.

With respect,
Charles1952

If health care reform was handled properly to begin with we would not have the problems that are surfacing every day. Just like Pelosi warned. Obama and his minions wanted a rapid emergency panic bill passed without proper due diligence. They opted for the "Easy Button" with their panacea approach.

We would all be better served if Congress had addressed the problems with our current system on a case by case basis. Then, legislated accordingly. Gotta learn to crawl before you walk.

The stage was deliberately set for the divisiveness that we are currently seeing. We all saw it coming throughout the whole process before this mess was signed into law. The main goal certainly worked.

Scrap the whole damn thing and do it the right way. Address the big problems first and figure out how to pay for them before you sign the damn thing into law. This is not learn as you go BS.

This problem could be solved with a public option or single payer.....no longer tying employers to insurance companies....therefore ending this whole argument.

Keep it up GOP.......go ahead....because you are going to end up proving why something like this is needed.

reply to post by David9176

You're quite right that have the government pay for everybody's health care, and deciding what would be covered would change the argument a lot. Of course people would argue over what should be covered. Would the government pay for expensive heart surgery for those over 80, for example. Or abortions, etc.

Remember that the government tried for single payer when the entire governmant was Democrat, but they couldn't get it through. Good idea or not, single payer isn't going to happen for awhile.

Keep it up GOP.......go ahead....because you are going to end proving why something like this is needed.

I just don't understand this. How will the GOP prove that contraception coverage provided by a church is needed?

reply to post by David9176


I'd be happy with interstate commerce in the Health Insurance Industry. It does wonders for the life insurance and auto insurance markets. Enough of the hammer lock and keep the govt. heavy hand to a minimum. They are incapable of running anything efficiently or on budget.

1-800-SAFEAUTO, how about 1-800-CHEAPHEALTH. No mandates needed no federal govt interference.

reply to post by charles1952

Remember that the government tried for single payer when the entire governmant was Democrat, but they couldn't get it through. Good idea or not, single payer isn't going to happen for awhile.

They couldn't get it through because to many politicians were paid off by the health insurance industry and big pharma ....that is why Obama cut a deal with both entities before the bill was even written.

The health insurance companies wanted the mandates...that's a fact. It was the only way they would agree to a compromise on any healthcare bill. Obama took it because it's all he could get...and could get more people insured.

Healthcare should be nonprofit...PERIOD....especially when it comes to insurance companies that are simply skimming money off the top while providing no actual healthcare themselves.

I just don't understand this. How will the GOP prove that contraception coverage provided by a church is needed?

That's not what I meant. The GOP is really making the point (unintentionally) that a public option or single payer system is needed in this country.

I think this compromise is partial.

Some religious groups are still going to pay one way or another.

Obama: Americans—Including Catholics--Will Still Be Forced to Buy Coverage for Sterilization, Contraception, Abortifacients

reply to post by David9176

Healthcare should be nonprofit...PERIOD....especially when it comes to insurance companies that are simply skimming money off the top while providing no actual healthcare themselves.

Before we go that route perhaps we need to solve the gross problem of fraud within the Medicare and Medicaid systems. That fraud will just spill into a new taxpayer funded cesspool if it is allowed to exist. There are so many hands in that cookie jar right now you could never accurately count them or figure out who is getting what and from whom.

ETA
Current estimates indicate the annual losses in the Medicare Medicaid system are at $100 billion. All lost due to waste, abuse, fraud. The system is bad that organized crime has gotten involved in the racket to exploit it. They market stolen beneficiary numbers in a dedicated Black Market of sorts. Pathetic!

reply to post by jibeho

Before we go that route perhaps we need to solve the gross problem of fraud within the Medicare and Medicaid systems. That fraud will just spill into a new taxpayer funded cesspool if it is allowed to exist. There are so many hands in that cookie jar right now you could never accurately count them or figure out who is getting what and from whom.

Absolutely we should get rid of the fraud. I don't want fraud...no one does....but fraud happens in the insurance industry as well...this isn't something that only happens in medicare.

And if we went to an interstate type of insurance that wasn't tied to an employer...millions of people would simply not get insurance because they are either poor or simply can't afford it...some will skip it altogether just because they are young and think they are invincible and will never need it....then will go in for care and never be able to pay their huge healthcare bills.....inflating costs for the rest of us.

The only way to fix that is with a government mandate making everyone buy insurance (which is profitable).....OR...a public option or single payer system (which is not).

The other option is to deny people healthcare because they simply don't have insurance and to just let them die or suffer from whatever ails them.

Originally posted by David9176
This problem could be solved with a public option or single payer.....no longer tying employers to insurance companies....therefore ending this whole argument.

Keep it up GOP.......go ahead....because you are going to end proving why something like this is needed.

edit on 10-2-2012 by David9176 because: (no reason given)

You're exactly right! I told my wife that exact thing just this morning. In the end, we democrats are going to get the "single-payer" or "public option" program we wanted in the beginning and the good news is, that it's the GOP who's going to do all the work by exposing just how insane all other options are.

All I can say is; If it's O.K. for Catholic outreach organizations to be exempted from providing birth control coverage based on ideological objections then it should also be O.K. if a Muslim outreach hospital refuses treatment to the victim of an attempted honor killing or a Jehovah's Witness outreach hospital refuses to cover or perform blood transfusions, etc...

This mandate is no different than Mormons not being allowed to legally participate in polygamy despite the fact that their religion endorses the practice. If I'm not mistaken, that's why Mitt Romney's grandfather moved to Mexico.

If you ask me, the real reason that the Catholic Church is launching such an adamant objection to the mandate is due to the fact that they have already earmarked the money that would be needed to cover the increase in insurance premiums to their Pedophile Defense Fund. I mean everyone has to have their priorities.

It's a great victory for relligious freedom. The State has overreached it's authority too much over the decades and especially so under this occupant in the WH. It's the best news I've heard since the shellacking in 2010.

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101


Christian "charity" stops at taking life. There are plenty of abortion clinics around to perform abortions. I bet the abortion docs will be happy to take the extra business. Who checks in at a Catholic hospital to do that anyway?

reply to post by ThirdEyeofHorus

Dear ThirdEyeofHorus,

I wish I could share your enthusiasm. Under this newest plan, the Church has to buy an insurance policy for its employees, the plan has to cover contraception, and the Church has to pay for the plan. Please explain your excitement, I need some good news.

With respect,
Charles1952

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101


Burn them at the stake? That is just hyperbole at this point. The Church doesn't do that in this day and age. As I said, there are plenty of abortion clinics to do it.

My first reaction to the Prez changing his mind on this is that he is now having to court the Catholic votes. Dontcha just love his transparency?