Trump rolls back Obamacare provision for free birth control

I find it so bizarre that the interpretation of freedom of religion is twisted so often to be..

I can enforce my personal beliefs on others,

not what the larger and I believe infinitely superior goal of,

I can choose to live my own as I choose as long as it doesn't effect others negatively.

I think this is indicative of what most conservatives means when they talk about freedom of religion.. they mean you are free as long as you agree with me and are the same religion..

While I think its pretty simple.. simple freedom is;

Don't want contraception, don't take it

Don't want an abortion, don't have one.

Don't want to get married to someone of the same sex, no one is going to make you.

NOT

You can't have contraception even if you want to

You can't have an abortion at all in any circumstance

You can't make a commitment to someone in the way you want

Because waaaaaaaaaa.

Why would Republican politicians support contraception when they can just coerce their mistresses into having abortions?

Obama allowed a work-around for private firms and nonprofit groups that were religiously-oriented by allowing an insurance administrator not affiliated with the group to check the boxes. Insurance companies loved this as it's much cheaper to provide contraception than it is to care for a (particularly, unintentional) pregnancy. While even this was not enough for some uber-conservative groups, it does show Obama's effort to reach a reasonable compromise.

Trump would allow even publicly traded companies - which, by definition, exist to profit their stock holders and thus could not hold any "religious belief" - to stop offering contraceptives through their health insurance plans if they have a "sincerely held religious or moral objection." "They"? - what, will a vote be taken at the shareholders meeting? And Trump has expanded the loophole to include the impossibly vague "moral objection."

This will never pass judicial scrutiny and thus will never be executed. Failing to anticipate this is just another example of how moronic the Trump administration is.

Trumpcare

This man makes me so sick... While I can comprehend not requiring religious organizations to offer contraceptive support, extending it to commercial businesses just because the owner has individual moral/religious objections?

Trump is the kind of man that religious fanatics flock to. And I despise religious fanaticism.

But because Obama, Trump wants to destroy it.

Never voted a straight party ticket in my life... but this fool has made me want to vote full Democratic ticket this upcoming election to set his @$$ on fire and block his brainless idiocy.

@HonestDictator

Not really a fan, then? ; )

Considering Republicans are horribly afraid of Sharia law in the US, they sure seem willing to lay the groundwork for religious ideology trumping the rule of law.

Contraception costs $24 for a 3 week supply at the drug store. I have no problem with the religious freedom of company owners to not pay for their employees sexual activities. It's not like the government pays for what men need to buy.

Assuming that birth control is a right—it’s not—the government (i.e. the tax payer) does not need it. This is not a problem; you have Freedom of Speech but the government does not provide you with a free radio station. You have the right to bear arms but you will not receive a rifle from the government. I’m could continue but I think we get the point.

Should say the government does not need to pay for it.

Go out and buy your own Condoms and Pills, just like the rest of the World. Why should your own employers be involved in this matter ?

Just imagine, what your Employers are tracking every time you go for the free contraceptives and how that information could be used to impact your future Healthcare Insurance costs ?

Sam, society has progressively accepted that a certain level of healthcare is a responsibility of society itself, either (as liberals believe) for abstract moral values or (as conservatives believe) to promote the general welfare. That it's difficult for even the rich to stay healthy when people are dying in the streets (or rich, when their workers are too sick to work) has long been obvious.

Socialized healthcare thus requires defined parameters of what it encompasses. No one educated in this area would deny that contraception greatly promotes the welfare of women. Trump has decided that religious beliefs supersede health considerations which, in turn, are supported by laws - that is, that religion trumps law. This is a mighty slippery slope. Trump's case is doomed in court, but if it did manage to survive - well, you'd better hope your employer doesn't suddenly convert to the Jehovah’s Witness faith.

Surely its not a matter of Religion, why should your Employer be forced to provide you with Contraceptives - unless of course, it's a Brothel. Your sexual activities should be of business to none other than yourself.

So why is everyone getting so worked up ?

It makes absolute sense for the US Government to curtail this wasteful expenditure of public finances.

Its a personal issue and should be paid for by an individual - not the company, the shareholders or the taxpayers, a lot of Countries don't allow this.

We're not talking about the banning of contraceptives, nor even abortion. Simply the inane requirement for Employers to ensure that their employees have free access to them. This is not really a Religious issue - though it makes good Political sense for it to sound like it is. Instead, its common sense,. Being an Employer is hard enough, without having to ensure that your employee's sexual needs are also catered too. Why is it that the US has to be different from the rest of the World ?

Perhaps if all these free-loaders wish to retain the right, then their usage details be made public. I can envisage a lot of uses such information could be put to.

How to alienate basically half the population of the US in one easy step.

Why would Republican politicians support contraception when they can just coerce their mistresses into having abortions?

Republicans? As in all of them? Painting a pretty broad brush there, homie.

Easy answer: remove birth control pills from the list of medicine that needs a prescription. Sell them over the counter, like Dristan and Tylenol. Price drops, access grows, no need for health insurance to pay. Problem solved.

“#HandsOffMyBC was a top trending hashtag on Twitter.” Reaching new depths of stupidity here; you want to be left alone but expect others to pick up the tab. Sure, folks. No problem.

Well, Trump DOES need an uneducated white-trash base to keep him in power... but I think he's getting a little ahead of himself if he thinks people who can't afford contraception on their own will still get pregnant and be his future voting base. Obviously he doesn't give one wit for women's rights and has to pander to religious freaks, but that's secondary.

Trump's disapproval rating now at 67%. He seems to be aiming for 100%!

@Smith. Your argument is at least as stupid as the religious freaks you speak of in your post. You are not American so let me educate you on one of the differences between the US and your native England; in the US we believe (or used to) in self-reliance and not in dependence on the nanny-state. I would guess less than 10% of the opposition to religious-based. The main opposition is ever-increasing government interference in personal matters along with the demand that citizens pay for it. There aren’t enough “religious freaks” in the US to elect any president.

in the US we believe (or used to) in self-reliance and not in dependence on the nanny-state.

I take it, Sam, that you are against any government involvement in insurance, then - that you'd eliminate Medicaid, Medicare and CHIPS; that you'd eliminate the employer mandate; and that you'd return to the caveat emptor days of insurance where garbage policies were common. That is where your argument points.

@Laguna. There is a world of difference between the programs you have mentioned and condoms and Plan B pills (and abortion, which is really want Planned for women. But I think you know that.

Which is what planned parenthood is all about.

There is a world of difference between the programs you have mentioned and condoms and Plan B pills (and abortion....

Sam, respectfully, YOU may believe this as deeply as I disagree, but in the end, our personal beliefs must be subordinate to what society through the tool of law determines; otherwise, society crumbles.

None other than the Supreme Court has upheld the legality of the types of contraception at issue here. One may personally disagree; this does not permit one to carve out legal niches allowing one to infringe the legally-defined rights of others who do not share your belief. This is a slippery slope that leads to anarchy. I think you know that.

@Laguna. I am not questioning a woman’s choice to use contraceptives nor even to have an abortion—I am pro-choice up until the first trimester—but there nothing in the Constitution that guarantees those rights. You can take the Constitution, hold it up to the light, pour lemon juice on it, whatever, you will find nothing in that document that says women have a right to birth control and on-demand abortions. Yes, the Supreme says that this clause may sorta kinda be applied but it’s a reach. This is how the Left gets their way; they run to the Supreme Court to get them to rule on issues that they can’t win in a regular debate. That’s why the Left fights tooth-and-nail for every seat on the Court. You imply that society wants free subsidized birth control. Fine. Put it on a ballot and vote on it. If what you say is true then it will win. But anyway let’s assume birth control is a right; name one other right that the government subsidizes. You can’t because it doesn’t.

exemptions to protect moral convictions for certain entities and individual

Im still struggling to see how we can be a nation of laws when people can simply opt out if they don't like something. My guess is that the government will prioritize Christian values as worthy of exceptions, but not so much others like Islam.

Well, Trump DOES need an uneducated white-trash base to keep him in power...

What about all the educated women that came out and voted for Trump? They're mostly white and what about the Blacks and Mexicans that voted for him, what do you call these people? Are they trash as well or do we have to be PC as to what we should call them?

but I think he's getting a little ahead of himself if he thinks people who can't afford contraception on their own will still get pregnant and be his future voting base. Obviously he doesn't give one wit for women's rights and has to pander to religious freaks, but that's secondary.*

Trump is pandering to his voter base, obviously as most Republicans do and Obama did the same for his base, so if anyone thinks that a Republican presidents base will support abortion is sadly mistaken and If we have a Democratic president, they will appease the pro-choice people. That's politics.

Andrew Crisp.

Your Australian, there is public healthcare, doesn't apply, go take your agenda somewhere else and try to limit other people freedoms..

NZ2011: "Your Australian, there is public healthcare, doesn't apply, go take your agenda somewhere else and try to limit other people freedoms.."

Ah, the old "you're not American (on American issues), so you have no opinion!" argument. And it's funny you telling Andrew in one breath to get lost, then saying HE is trying to limit other people's freedoms in the next. Classic hypocrisy from someone unable to debate the topic and defend a poor healthcare system when provided with proof of how better ones work.