House Passes Contraception Resolution
The resolution asks the federal government to undo a rule requiring insurance companies to provide contraceptives to employees of religious organizations.
House republican leaders say religious liberty is in jeopardy under the federal rule, even though it no longer requires religious organizations to directly pay for contraceptives. House Speaker William O’Brien says the 227-to-121 vote sends the message that either way, the requirement’s intent is simply wrong.
“That’s what this resolution is attempting to make clear, that our religious freedoms are fundamental to who we are as a people, fundamental to the formation of this country, and that it’s not proper that a presidential administration would say we are not going to honor those freedoms anymore because we have secular goals.”
House republican leaders are also working on a separate bill, one Manchester diocese helped them draft, to undo the state requiring insurers to provide contraception. That law’s been on the books for 12 years without controversy. It was enacted with bipartisan support, and doesn’t apply to self-insured entities like the Manchester Diocese or Catholic Medical Center.