Parker on HHS

by Michael Sean Winters on Feb. 06, 2012

If you watched the cable news stations or the Sunday morning talks shows on the networks, you know that the controversy over the Obama administration's decision to force Catholic institutions to pay for insurance that covers abortifacients, sterilization and contraception has landed squarely in the mainstream media and that most commentators understand that this was a really stupid move by the White House. This morning in the Washington Post, Kathleen Parker, who is not a ranter by any stretch, looks at the HHS decision and the controversy surrounding the Komen Foundation.

The other thing that emerged from the coverage was how badly informed some commentators are. On Fox News Sunday, Juan Williams seemed to think that the mandate was a function of Catholic institutions receiving federal funds, but this has nothing to do with that. Chris Satullo, a commentator on WHYY this morning on my drive up here, made the same mistake. Both men also seem to think that the issue is unique to institutions that dispense health care, which is also not the case. At least Satullo nonetheless grasped that, at the end of the day, this was a bad decision.

One thing is clear - the issue is not going away.

According to NARAL, 28 states

Submitted by Michael Bindner (not verified) on Feb. 06, 2012.

According to NARAL, 28 states currently have contraception coverage, with 8 states having no religious exemption and three that have them, including New York having the same exemption as in the new federal policy. If this policy already exists in most states without challenge, the issue is about more than the policy itself. Even if the NCHLA database is not shared, I suspect that legislaive updates will come out around election time to any who sign up to send a message on this policy.

If you read the comments by

Submitted by ATF (not verified) on Feb. 06, 2012.

If you read the comments by readers of this article Mr. Winter's refers to, you would see they are predominantly opposed to what the writer is saying. She really raved and it was easily attacked.

Komen got clobbered for its decision not by some wild bunch of liberal pro-abortionists but by a lot of the 64% of citizens who want federal funding for Planned Parenthood to continue. 95% of what Planned Parenthood does is connected to women's health issues that are not abortion; they are an important source of health screenings and contraceptives for poor women. Women came out against Komen because Komen made a bad decision, one that actually undermines their own mission.

Does National Catholic

Submitted by Wardog00 (not verified) on Feb. 07, 2012.

Does National Catholic Reporter provide health insurance as part of compensation that includes payments for abortions, contraception, sterilization and other "health issues"? Does NCR consider fertility a disease to be treated?

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