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Update from ICC

By Tom Chapman
Executive Director
Iowa Catholic Conference

The Obama Administration announced Jan. 20 it will not change its contraceptive mandate rule related to the Affordable Care Act. All new insurance plans will be required to cover contraception and sterilization procedures with no co-pays, including long-lasting injections, implants and “morning-after pills” that may cause an early abortion. It was announced that certain religious groups would have until Aug. 1, 2013 to comply.
 
This decision is disappointing on many levels. It changes what has been settled federal policy on exemptions for religious organizations. To be eligible, now an organization must meet four strict criteria, including the requirement that it both hire and serve primarily people of its own faith. This is extremely narrow and does not cover organizations such as Catholic schools, hospitals or charities. Jesus and his apostles would not have been “religious enough” for the exemption, since they healed and served people of different faiths.
 
The rule considers fertility to be a disease to be prevented. The other services on HHS’s list seek to prevent serious disease, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, AIDS. In addition, resources needed to provide basic health care to the uninsured will be used instead to subsidize IUDs and Depo-Provera for those who could afford to pay.
 
The Bill of Rights says we are free to live by our religious beliefs. From our perspective this is an issue related to the First Amendment’s “free exercise” clause and no doubt we’ll renew efforts to ask Congress to fix this. Current bills are HR 1179 and S 1467.
 

IOWA LEGISLATURE GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS
 
The first subcommittee hearing was held this week for House Study Bill 517, the governor’s education reform bill. The chair of the House Education Committee has announced that he expects the bill to come out of committee in mid-February. It has 156 pages, so it will take a while for the subcommittee to review.
 
While we are disappointed it does not contain new avenues for private school choice, there are positives in the bill. There are opportunities for increased flexibility for schools in providing education and emphasis on literacy and quality teaching. As the process continues, we’ll keep you posted on specific items that we think really could use a push or that ought to be slowed down.
 
Iowa is among the states taking part in National School Choice Week, which runs Jan. 22 to 28, and spotlights the need for educational options for children. A proclamation signing by Gov. Terry Branstad was scheduled Jan. 23 at the Capitol in Des Moines.
 
The week of Jan. 29 kicks off National Catholic Schools Week.  Most Catholic schools in the state will celebrate with a variety of activities.
 
In other education news, an Indiana judge upheld last week the constitutionality of Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program, which strengthens the expansive, first-year voucher program and the futures of the thousands of low-income children it serves.
 
The Iowa Catholic Conference recommends opposition to House File 2036 and House File 2038. House File 2036 would require drug testing, if convicted of a drug offense, before receiving family investment program, or “welfare” benefits. Those who test positive would be ineligible to re-apply for a year. Dependent children could still receive assistance. House File 2038 would require random drug tests for those who receive unemployment benefits.
 
Not every applicant for assistance should be suspected as a drug abuser. Perhaps we should consider better access to drug dependency treatment for those who need it rather than simply denying financial assistance. It is not clear who would pay for the test, but people who need financial assistance would most likely have difficulty in doing so. It also seems unfair to have this requirement only for certain groups of Iowans who receive benefits from the state, i.e. the poor or those without jobs.
 
U.S. BISHOPS WELCOME POPE’S REAFFIRMATION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY DURING AD LIMINA VISIT
 
The U.S. bishops expressed praise and gratitude for the latest statement of Pope Benedict XVI on the need to protect religious liberty, which he delivered in an address Jan. 19, to U.S. bishops gathered in Rome for their ad limina visits.
 
 “Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion,” said Pope Benedict. “Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience.”