Some Catholics expressed relief but others were unmoved after President Barack Obama on Friday, Feb 10, loosened a requirement that religious employers cover contraception in health plans, an issue that had turned into a political firestorm in recent weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Journal said that under the new policy, religious employers opposed to most forms of birth control wouldn't be required to directly pay for such coverage in their workers' insurance policies. Instead, insurance companies would be required to offer contraception without explicitly charging either the religious employer or worker. That shift means the cost of providing the coverage to religious employers is likely to be spread across all policyholders by insurers.
In a year where the economy was supposed to dominate the November elections, the contraception backlash showed that social issues could have a powerful influence on the race. Republicans used the controversy to paint Mr. Obama as assailing religious rights – and adding another black mark against the 2010 health overhaul that spawned the policy.
The debate also exposed a rift within the White House that pitted some Catholics against high-level women in the administration who argued for broad contraceptive coverage.
Aides said Friday's settlement showed the president fighting for birth-control access, an issue popular among independent women who are key to the 2012 election.
