Business, Government Legal News from throughout WVLocal reaction to national birth control debate mixed

President Barack Obama announced Feb. 10 he was speeding up a process he envisioned for his health care reform law.

"From the very beginning of this process, I spoke directly to various Catholic officials, and I promised that before finalizing the rule as it applied to them, we would spend the next year working with institutions like Catholic hospitals and Catholic universities to find an equitable solution that protects religious liberty and ensures that every woman has access to the care that she needs," Obama said.

The health care reform law has a component for preventive care that includes contraception. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ruled Jan. 20 that employers that provide health plans are mandated to provide free contraceptive services, with exemptions for all churches.

"In addition to family planning, doctors often prescribe contraception as a way to reduce the risks of ovarian and other cancers, and treat a variety of different ailments," Obama said Feb. 10. "And we know that the overall cost of health care is lower when women have access to contraceptive services."

Obama announced Feb. 10 that women who work at religious organizations will have access to free contraceptive services, but they will come from the insurance company, not the employer.

"The result will be that religious organizations won't have to pay for these services, and no religious institution will have to provide these services directly," Obama said. "But women who work at these institutions will have access to free contraceptive services, just like other women, and they'll no longer have to pay hundreds of dollars a year that could go towards paying the rent or buying groceries."

Prior to the Feb. 10 announcement, opposition nationwide rose to a peak from religious and other organizations opposed to contraceptives, calling the mandate an attack on religious freedom.

Delegate Patrick Lane, R-Kanawha, took to the House of Delegates floor to speak as a Catholic against the requirement. Lane said "Obamacare" was going against one of the main tenets of the Catholic Church.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, urging her to look to West Virginia's law as a model for preventive health care for women.

"I believe that women should have access to preventative health care services, but I also support going about that in a way that protects religious freedom," Rockefeller said in a news release.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., introduced a bill with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to repeal the Obama Administration's mandate that had required religious employers to cover contraception for their employees.

Manchin, a Catholic, also mailed Obama a letter to explain his strong opposition to the mandate he called "a direct affront to the religious freedoms protected under the First Amendment of our Constitution."

Late Friday afternoon, Manchin issued the following statement:

"While I review the specific provisions of this proposal, I hope that the people of West Virginia on both sides of this issue share their concerns with me. As I have said before, I want to make sure that the First Amendment of the Constitution is protected and no religious institution will be required to pay for contraceptives when it violates their views. I also want to make sure that women have access to contraceptives. When I was governor, we were able to achieve that commonsense balance, and I will examine this proposal with those priorities in mind."

Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling said it stands behind a statement from Michael Bransfield, Bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

Branfield's statement, issued Feb. 1, called the decision an intrusion upon the religious rights of Catholics.

"Even those who are not in agreement with the Catholic Church's teaching on the sanctity of human life recognize that this is a radical break with the tradition of religious liberty and respect for conscience rights," Bransfield said in a statement.

Planned Parenthood issued a statement after Obama's Feb. 10 announcement, expressing satisfaction with the compromise.

"We will be vigilant in holding the administration an the institutions accountable for a rigorous, fair and consistent implementation of the policy, which does not compromise the essential principles of access to care," President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Cecile Richards said in a statement.

The Catholic Health Association also issued a statement after Obama's announcement, saying it was very pleased.

"We are pleased and grateful that the religious liberty and conscience protection needs of so many ministries that serve our country were appreciated enough that an early resolution of this issue was accomplished," the statement read.

In the West Virginia Legislature, both a House and Senate bill look to extend insurance coverage for pregnancy and birth control services.