WASHINGTON – Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., spoke Tuesday against an Obama administration ruling on Catholic hospitals and contraception.
“Despite the President’s contentions that this outcome is not what he intends, his mandate unfairly forces people to choose between their health and their morals or religious values,” Boozman said on the Senate floor.
The Department of Health and Human Services recently issued a ruling that would force religious-affiliated organizations that offer employee health insurance to cover contraceptives.
The issue was hotly debated Tuesday on the Senate floor and across the nation with Republicans generally siding with Catholic Bishops who are outraged by the rule.
Several Senate Democrats took to the floor to defend the policy and claimed that this was part of a continuing effort by Republicans to deny women access to reproductive health care.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, Tim Griffin, R-Little Rock, and Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, signed onto a letter Tuesday voicing their strong opposition to the rule.
“As pro-life members of Congress, we urge you to reconsider the final rule as it applies to any employer or individual that opposes coverage of such services based on moral or religious reasons,” they wrote to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., did not participate in Tuesday’s floor debate but would like to see the president reach an accord with the Catholic Bishops on the issue, according to spokesman Michael Teague.
“With respect to the religious views of the church there is room to reach a compromise and that is what we would like to see,” Teague said.
Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, issued a statement saying that he believes women should have access to contraceptives as a form of birth control.
“Whether they choose to use them should be a private and personal decision,” he said.
David Axelrod, senior strategist for the president’s re-election campaign, indicated that the Obama administration wants to allay the concerns of church-affiliated employers.
“We certainly don’t want to abridge anyone’s religious freedoms, so we’re going to look for a way to move forward that both provides women with the preventive care that they need and respects the prerogatives of religious institutions,” Axelrod said in an appearance Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program.