The Obama administration said it would give religious organizations one additional year to comply with a new policy requiring employers to provide free contraception services in insurance plans.
Roman Catholic bishops and other church leaders had protested the new rules, which were announced in August by Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, following a recommendation of the National Sciences? Institute of Medicine.
It was designed to drive down the rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion by making birth control available under the preventive health care services that all insurers must cover without a deductible or co-payment.
Churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship were already exempt, but some religious leaders wanted the exemption broadly expanded. Instead, the administration said after considering the request that nonprofit institutions like hospitals and universities affiliated with churches could take a year longer to comply.
That means they will not have to start providing the full insurance coverage to their employees until after the election. Even so, the question is likely to linger as a campaign issue.
The delay could also put off any court test of the rule. Last week, the Supreme Court, in an unrelated case, substantially broadened an exemption under the First Amendment that protects religious institutions from employment-discrimination suits brought by employees with ministerial duties.
The administration, which had hinted that it might be open to an expansion of the insurance waiver for churches, characterized its one-year compromise as a balanced solution.
?This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule,? Ms. Sebelius said. ?We intend to require employers that do not offer coverage of contraceptive services to provide notice to employees, which will also state that contraceptive services are available at sites such as community health centers, public clinics, and hospitals with income-based support.?
?I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services,? she said.
Catholic bishops had called the rule ?an unprecedented attack on religious liberty.?
But Jon O?Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, welcomed the decision as ? a victory for common sense and scientific advice in the interests of the common good.?
Congressional Democrats had lobbied the White House against expanding the religious exemption also cheered the move.
?This is a critical step forward for women?s health that will prevent abortions and ensure that millions of American families have access to affordable birth control,? said Senator Barbara Boxer of California in a statement.
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