Women's health advocates form coalition to protect birth control

Twenty-eight health advocacy organizations banded together Friday to launch a coalition dedicated to preserving women's access to birth control in the wake of strong pushback against the Obama administration's coverage mandate.

The Coalition to Protect Women's Health Care launched a website and Facebook and Twitter accounts where advocates can pledge their support. 

The group aims to turn critics' religious freedom argument on its head by arguing that employers should not be allowed to impose their religious beliefs on their employees by restricting their healthcare coverage.

"Several bills would allow bosses at any business or corporation, on the basis of their own individual beliefs, to take away birth control coverage from their employees," the coalition argues on its website. "Churches and other places of worship are already exempt. These bills would let any employer decide not to provide coverage for women's health. The individual rights and liberties of all women and all employees are at stake. Join us to protect women's access to basic preventive health care."

The coalition was formed after the Obama administration modified its coverage mandate on Friday following fierce pushback from Catholic and other religious groups.

Critics were not appeased. The National Right to Life Committee, one of the nation's leading anti-abortion-rights groups, said the mandate was akin to requiring abortion coverage. 

"President Obama today promulgated a scam that, if he is re-elected, will allow him to mandate that every health plan in America cover abortion on demand," NRLC legislative director Douglas Johnson said in a statement.

"The same twisted logic will be applied," he continued. "By ordering health plans to cover elective abortion, health plans would save the much higher costs of prenatal care, childbirth, and care for the baby — and under the Obama scam, if a procedure saves money, then that means that you're not really paying for it when the government mandates it."

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