In an effort to quell the uprising against the administration’s imposition of mandated contraception coverage for all, the Obama administration has offered what it calls several new options for how to cover these plans, supposedly without infringing on religious freedom. At the same time, it expanded the mandate to include forcing universities and colleges, including Catholic institutions, to provide the free coverage for all students in addition to their employees.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced late on Friday that it is offering several so-called compromises on the hotly contested mandate that will require all employers to cover contraceptives and other services, some of which violate the teachings of the Catholic Church. All of the scenarios amount to accounting gimmicks that are intended to spare religious institutions from having to pay for these services which would be a violation of their religious liberty.

In one of the new scenarios offered, administrators of self-insured plans would be required to cover the costs of providing contraception and recoup the money through revenue they get from sources other than the religious employer.

Another option involves repaying insurance companies for the contraception coverage through a broader system that will be implemented after 2014 in order to redistribute funds among insurers to compensate those who take on riskier customers.

An additional proposal would be for the federal government to require or incentivize private multi-state insurance companies to provide free contraception coverage to workers at the religious institutions.

Along with the compromises, the HHS also issued another mandate stating that all colleges must now provide the coverage to their students as well as their employees.

“Under the final rule, students will gain the same consumer protections other people with individual market insurance have, like a prohibition on lifetime limits and coverage of preventive services without cost sharing,” the HHS stated in its announcement.

“In the same way that religious colleges and universities will not have to pay, arrange or refer for contraceptive coverage for their employees, they will not have to do so for their students who will get such coverage directly and separately from their insurer.

“The President’s policy respects religious liberty and makes free preventive services available to women,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Today’s announcement is the next step toward fulfilling that commitment.”

The new announcement comes along with a 90-day public comment period.

While the U.S. bishops are withholding comment until after studying the new proposals, various religious groups have already denounced the measures as nothing more than window dressing.

“The Obama administration’s announcement on Friday, March 16, regarding mandated insurance coverage for sterilization, contraception and abortifacients does nothing to relieve Catholic colleges from the Administration’s violation of religious liberty,” writes Patrick J. Reilly, president of the  Cardinal Newman Society.

Reilly sees the new announcement as doing nothing more than providing a 90-day comment period which he calls a delaying tactic.

“The Catholic bishops, faithful Catholic colleges, and numerous other religious leaders and organizations have already clearly expressed their concerns about the mandate.  If the Obama administration did not get the message by now, then there is minimal hope for a resolution that does not come from the courts, Congress or a future President,” Reilly writes.

Jeanne Monahan, director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, agrees.

“After receiving tremendous pressure from both the left and right on the profound violation of religious liberty that the HHS mandate is, the president is now trying to buy time until after the election. Just this weekend The New York Times showed in a poll that the majority of women and men do not agree with the president on this issue. I don’t believe the American people will be fooled by the latest rule issued today,” she said.

“At the end of the day, no accounting gimmick changes the fact that the mandate forces religious organizations to pay health insurance companies for coverage to their employees with drugs and services that simply violates their religious convictions. You may not agree with such religious beliefs, but freedom to exercise one’s religion is a constitutional right and should be protected by the president under the First Amendment.”

Theologian and Catholic author Pia de Solenni says the new announcement merely punts the whole issue of the mandate until after the election.

“They’re just punting until after the election so that this won’t be an election issue and President Obama can keep his majority Catholic vote while wooing single women who won’t vote unless they’re worried about something really important like their birth control,” she writes on her blog.

Thus far, the majority of Americans don’t appear to be fooled by the administration’s various attempts to quell the controversy with dozens of rallies in favor of religious liberty now set for Friday, March 23, in cities throughout the U.S.

© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com