Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., faulted President Obama first for implementing the contracpetion mandate and then for attempting to “cover [his] trails” with an accomodation that pro-life leaders still protest.
“This is just a backtrack to try to cover their trails,” West told The Washington Examiner, speaking of the “accomodation” announced by President Obama today.
Obama changed the rule today so that religious institutions would not have to pay for contraception. “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,” the president told White House reporters. “Under the rule, women will still have access to free preventive care. That includes contraceptive services no matter where they work.”
The president’s modification has not mollified pro-life critics of the rule, who say there are still “hundreds, if not thousands of religious organizations, businesses, and individuals that would still be forced to violate their religious beliefs,” according to Hannah Smith, Senior Legal Counsel for The Becket Fund
West argued that the rule oversteps contitutional protections to religious liberty. “Why would President Obama and the administration go down that road in the first place?” he asked.
