Birth control mandate remains divisive health coverage issue

The head of the Catholic Hospital Association explains her group's split with the Obama administration on the question of contraception coverage. Meanwhile, another Catholic organization is launching a nationwide ad campaign against this policy.  

Kaiser Health News: Catholic Hospital Leader Defends Split With Obama Administration On Contraceptives
Late last Friday, the Catholic Health Association dealt the Obama administration a blow when it announced that it would not support a compromise plan on contraception coverage. In an effort to work with religious organizations' concerns about providing free contraception in employees' health plans, the administration had proposed that insurers be the ones to contact workers and pay for the coverage. Kaiser Health News' Mary Agnes Carey talked with CHA chief Sister Carol Keehan, a key ally of President Barack Obama during the run up to passage of the health care law (Carey, 6/19).

The Hill: Catholic Group To Launch Ad Against Birth Control Mandate
An association of lay Catholics will air a nationwide ad against the Obama administration's birth control coverage mandate on Fox News Thursday. The move serves to highlight a two-week effort by U.S. Catholic bishops to build momentum against the mandate, which some have argued violates religious freedom. The debate puts the church in a tough spot because polls show that the vast majority of Catholic women use and support birth control (Viebeck, 6/19).