Barack Obama backs down on demanding the Catholic church offer healthcare plans which offer contraception, or does he?
The biggest news over the last week has been the Obama regime’s decree that religious institutions and charities which offer their employees healthcare coverage must change their coverage to plans which violate their religious beliefs that contraception and abortion are wrong if the plans they offer do not include free access to contraception and abortion. Needless to say, this drew a firestorm of criticism from the Catholic church, other Christian faiths, conservatives, and even some Democrats.
Liberals such as Barack Obama like to call attention to Thomas Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists where he mentions the separation of church and state when it comes to tearing down all public displays of faith, the mention of God at public events, and anything that can be construed as a mingling of politics and religion, yet Barack Obama did not feel as if it was a violation of church and state for the government to dictate to Christian organizations which healthcare plans they can and cannot offer to employees.
The backlash against this edict was quick and fierce and I think that Barack Obama–in his ethnocentric views–underestimated the fallout from this controversy and today he backtracked from this position by announcing that he reached an “accommodation” which he hoped would help to placate the controversy. But did he really back down in the face of this brewing controversy?
The answer is simple; he did not.
Barack Obama still holds the same position today as he did yesterday and the Catholic church and other Christian denominations will still be forced to offer plans which include free contraception and abortions because instead of forcing the organizations to change insurance plans, the Obama regime has decided that the churches can keep the same plans, but the difference is that these plans will now be forced to offer the offending services. This is supposed to alleviate the churches from their guilt by building a wall of separation between the church and their insurance plans.
This is nothing but an attempt to provide the religious organizations with a “clear conscience” clause in an attempt to separate them from the issues at hand much in the way Pontius Pilot washed his hands of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Pilot “absolved” himself of the crucifixion by saying it was what the people wanted but not really what he wanted, but the end result was the same.
And that is what is happening here; according to Barack Obama, the churches will now be able to wash their hands of this controversy by claiming they had nothing to do with this change in policy even though they will still be paying for contraception and abortions. The end result is the same; The Catholic church will still be paying for practices which they feel are immoral but Barack Obama has abolished them of their sins with this new “accommodation.”
But who the hell is Barack Obama to absolve anyone of their sins? Does Barack Obama feel he dictate the same position in different words and the churches and the people will simply fall in line because they are too stupid to realize nothing has changed but the wording?
America's Watchtower 
EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW THAT OBAMA WILL DO ALL HE CAN TO APPEASE CATHOLICS BEFORE THE ELECTION AND IF HE WINS AGAIN, HE WILL SHOVE THIS DOWN OUR THROATS AFTER IT. THERE WILL NOT BE ANY LEVERAGE LEFT AT THAT POINT.
THE ONLY WAY TO PERMANENTLY STOP THIS WAR ON RELIGION IS TO MAKE SURE HE DOESN’T GET RE-ELECTED!
THIS INFO HAS TO APPEAR ON ALL BLOGS, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, EVERY NEWSLETTER AND IN EMAILS TO EACH OTHER.
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There is no doubt in my mind that even if Obama totally reverses this decision that if he wins reelection he will implement this policy. We cannot be fooled by him because we know where he stands on this issue.
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More smoke and mirrors designed to deceive the gullible who still worship this poverty pimp.
The cost of the so called “free contraceptives” insurance companies will be mandated to provide will be passed on to the Catholic Church.
In the end the Church will in fact be providing the contraceptives that go against their core principle of pro life.
Same ole, same ole from the commissar and his revolutionary babes, Sebelius, Jarrett and the missus.
It’s clearly apparent at this juncture who wears the pants in the White House….WM
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William, I think you summed it up rather nicely. Can’t say that I would add anything to what you just said. Giving you a “thumbs up”!
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He sure did, and he did it much more efficiently than I did and in less time to boot!
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Exactly William! This is not a change of position, it is simply a rewording of the same position and our president doesn’t think we are smart enough to realize this.
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This is still a violation of the First Amendment. Obama’s trying to have his cake and eat it too. My bishop, Bishop Zubik of Pittsburgh, is not happy with this contraceptive mandate ‘compromise’. This is about religious liberty, not about contraceptives. Women are able to get all the contraceptives they want for free from clinics. A little sarcasm here – Planned Parenthood should be forced to pay for contraceptives for the women who want them.
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It sounds like the churches aren’t going to fall for this BS and that is good to know. Barack Obama’s “compromise” is just and attempt to slow the backlash but it doesn’t appear to be working.
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Everyone has hit the nail on the Head with their interputation of Obama and what he did today. I agree with you all. But, it isn’t over……now he has infringed on two of our constitutional rights, not just one.
He wanted us all to believe he backed down. But, I think he has really met his “Match” with the Religious Groups on this one. LOL
And if he thinks at all he met his “Match” on this one ……He has seen the “Match” that will be coming up the end of next month, “THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT”. Don’t think the Judges on the Court doesn’t remember when Obama chastized them at the the first State of the Union in 2009.
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This is not over by a longshot and I don’t see this compromise as placating any of the people who are upset with him over this issue. They are not going to back down because this is still the same policy, nothing has changed.
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A more apt analogy is to be found in the Book of Maccabees. The pagan greeks had taken over Jerusalem and decreed that all jews must vilate their religion and eat pork or die. One old man, Eleazar by name, refused. The greeks did not want to execute this old man so they secretly offered a concession. He could publicly eat another kind of meat but let his fellow jews think he was eating pork. That way the greeks would appear to not back down and so save face. The old man refused the offer as it was immoral and would confuse the young jews who looked to him for guidance. He chose death rather than compromise and save his own skin.
Obama’s Conscience Clause is insulting.
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That analogy works quite well in this case. He is giving the church the chance to make it look like they are not doing something against their faith but in the end they still would be. How can Obama expect them to agree to this compromise?
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The changes I have been reading about state that the offending contraceptives will now be supplied by the health insurance companies themselves, instead of coming from the employers. Make no mistake, President Obama has not changed his views. He has simply realized that the political fallout from his original policy change was placing a large weight right in the middle of his reelection bid. He reversed course (not really) to remove that weight. Once he no longer has to worry about winning a second term, this will be something he comes back to.
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But the health insurance companies were always going to be the ones handing out the birth control, so there really is no change in policy at all other than a rewording of the proclamation.
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I think he is trying to split hairs and say that the churches and religious organizations can have a clear conscious because they will not be the ones providing the contraceptives. It is a political game he is playing and I marvel that so many people either can not or refuse to see what he is doing.
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