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Catholic doctors fight birth control pay mandate

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 26, 2011

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A group of Catholic physicians is challenging a rule under the health system reform law that requires health plans to provide contraceptives and other preventive health services to women without patient cost sharing.

The physicians, members of the St. Gianna Physician's Guild, launched an online petition in August requesting the Obama administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to withdraw all references to contraception and contraception counseling in reform law regulations. The petition also asks the government to provide a "conscience clause" in the regulations to protect the religious freedom of Catholic health professionals (link).

HHS has said the contraception language has an expressed exception for "religious institutions that offer insurance to their employees." Catholic groups, however, call that exception too limited. Doctors and others in the group say the contraception mandate is discriminatory and violates religious rights.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/09/26/gvbf0926.htm.

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