So, our support for access to healthcare services and education around birth control through Planned Parenthood is well documented on these pages. But consider this new wrinkle on the issue of women’s reproductive rights and politics.  Under Obamacare, healthcare institutions that are affiliated with religious organizations, like Catholic hospitals, for instance, could be forced to cover the cost of birth control through their employee insurance benefits, including the cost of the morning after pill. Mitt Romney, who hasn’t talked much about social issues this time around, is questioning whether the President is trampling on freedom of religion.   There’s been a spate of coverage around this in recent days, beginning with an article in USA Today where the editorial staff criticized the mandate. Catholic organizations are saying the rules violate their religious beliefs while Obama campaign advisors claim the only people upset by this are social conservatives, who are more likely to vote Republican anyway. They say the rule won’t offend young women at all.  Okay, women, what do you say?

First, the USA Today article – USA-Today-editors-call-out-HHS-chief-on-contraception-mandate

Next, a response in today’s New York Times, claiming the Administration is reconsidering its ruling – the-politics-of-obamas-contraception-decision/