You probably heard from the media late last week that the Obama administration issued a new rule “accommodating” religious organizations that don’t want to be forced to cover contraceptives, sterilization surgery and possible abortion-causing drugs in their employees’ health insurance plans.
Funny thing is, the “new” rule operates almost exactly like the old one.
Bruce Hausknecht and Stuart Shepard discuss the Health and Human Services mandate in the latest CitizenLink Report. Click here to watch.
So what did change for faith groups? Very little: Churches that run social service programs, such as soup kitchens, may not automatically lose their exemption now for serving people who aren’t members of their denominations.
But the new rule does not create a broader exemption for religious organizations or secular business owners who say the mandate violates their conscience to opt out of offering the coverage. The only organizations allowed to do that are churches just as when the rule was first issued in 2012.
In the meantime, the new rule is available for public comment; please take advantage of this opportunity to make your voice heard by sending the president an email through the CitizenLink Action Center today.
Funny thing is, the “new” rule operates almost exactly like the old one.
Bruce Hausknecht and Stuart Shepard discuss the Health and Human Services mandate in the latest CitizenLink Report. Click here to watch.
So what did change for faith groups? Very little: Churches that run social service programs, such as soup kitchens, may not automatically lose their exemption now for serving people who aren’t members of their denominations.
But the new rule does not create a broader exemption for religious organizations or secular business owners who say the mandate violates their conscience to opt out of offering the coverage. The only organizations allowed to do that are churches just as when the rule was first issued in 2012.
In the meantime, the new rule is available for public comment; please take advantage of this opportunity to make your voice heard by sending the president an email through the CitizenLink Action Center today.
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