Written by Don Byrd
Reverend Brent Walker, the Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, issued the following statement after new rules regarding contraception coverage mandate were announced by Health and Human Services:
The proposed rules signal an ongoing effort by the administration to provide for the preventive healthcare needs of women employees while seeking to honor the conscience objections of religious employers and their affiliates.
The proposed rules laudably clarify and simplify the definition of religious organizations and affiliated nonprofits, and seek to provide an acceptable alternative for self-insured employers.
It is important to note that these proposed rules do not address objecting commercial, for-profit businesses.
These proposed rules will continue to be critiqued and refined during the comment period through April 8.
We need a both/and solution to these important policy issues — Women’s healthcare is promoted; religious liberty is protected.
You can see read about some details of the proposed changes here.
