Evangelicals Respond with Mixed Reaction to Contraception Ruling.
Minneapolis, MN, February 10, 2012
MINNESOTA EVANGELICALS RESPOND WITH MIX REACTIONS TO PRESIDENT’S RULING ON CONTRACEPTION
Transform Minnesota has mixed reactions to President Obama’s ruling today to alter the HHS rule mandating that religious employers cover contraceptive and abortifacient in their employer-sponsored health plans.
“For most evangelicals the conflict was never about contraceptives primarily, rather it was a religious liberty issue,” says Carl Nelson, President of Transform Minnesota, the evangelical network. “We agree with the President’s decision to amend the rule in recognition that the earlier mandate requiring religious employers to pay for contraceptives through their insurance plans was a clear violation of freedom of conscience.”
However the new ruling issued today appears to be merely an accounting maneuver, according to Nelson. Rather than requiring the employer to pay for contraceptive services, the Administration is going to mandate that insurance providers offer it to employees at no extra charge.
Nelson observed that “because insurance plans are ultimately paid for by employers and their employees, it’s hard to see how policy holders who are religious institutions aren’t still ultimately paying for this service.”
Another conflict that remains unsolved by this change is that the definition of a “religious organization” includes only houses of worship, and excludes faith-based organizations that operate based on clearly held religious beliefs. Transform Minnesota believes that it is important for the President to recognize that there are many religious organizations that are protected under the freedom of religion clause of the first amendment.
Transform Minnesota believes that the debate surrounding this issue highlights the concern that evangelicals have had regarding government mandates infringing upon our fundamental guarantee of religious liberties and freedom of conscience as enshrined in our constitution.
As a regional network representing evangelicals in Minnesota, who account for nearly one-third of all church-goers in the state, Transform Minnesota uses as its guide the public policy principles outlined in “For the Health of the Nation”, the public policy platform of the National Association of Evangelicals.
The first policy goal in that document is foundational to all other public policies: protecting freedom of religion.
The point of an exemption (and this compromise) is simply to enable an employer to avoid acting contrary to his or her religious beliefs, not to revisit the merits of the health law or enable employers to undercut it by retaining control of employees’ health plans, limiting employees’ choices to those religiously approved by the employer, and avoiding paying any money to anybody that might someday be used by somebody to provide services to employees not to the employers’ liking.