Abortion/contraceptive mandate takes effect

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Obama administration's much-criticized abortion/contraceptive mandate went into effect Aug. 1, forcing businesses and religious organizations to carry insurance plans covering contraceptives that can cause chemical abortions, at no cost to the employee.
It is not known how many businesses and religious organizations are impacted, and in fact, it is possible that most of them are not -- yet. That's because businesses and religious organizations had the option of "grandfathering" the plans they had as of March 23, 2010 -- the date the health care law was signed -- as long as no major changes had been made since then. That means that if their plan did not include contraceptives then, it does not have to do so now, as long as the grandfathered requirements are met.
Religious organizations not eligible for "grandfathered" status could get a one-year extension until Aug. 1, 2013, but only if their insurance plans, as of Feb. 10 of this year, had not provided any contraceptive coverage due to religious objections.
HHS did not issue its proposed rules on the mandate until Aug. 1, 2011, well after the grandfather date of March 23, 2010. This means that business owners and religious organizations who object to contraceptives and/or abortion may have made changes to their plans after March 23, 2010, not realizing what their action would lead to -- that is, them being held to the HHS mandate and forced to cover chemical abortions and contraceptives. 
"People weren't thinking of the significance [the changes] would have here," attorney Patrick D. Purtill, of the Gammon & Grange law firm, said on a July 31 conference call sponsored by the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance.
(link to full article)