Today there were reports that it definitely is cheaper for insurance companies to offer free birth control (cost about $600) than what it would cost them for an actual pregnancy (thousands). So this will make them money in the long run. I strongly suspect that someone in the industry pointed this out to POTUS before he changed his tune.
If I, as a non Catholic, were working at the only hospital in town, I would be darned annoyed if I could not get the same free services that all my friends working elsewhere were able to get. If I were a Catholic I could choose not to use those free services thus maintaining my religious freedom. While people are saying this denies Catholics their rights, I see it as Catholics denying non Catholics their rights if they work at a Catholic hospital. Suppose you worked for a police department and they told you that you could not keep a gun at home, even though all other citizens in your jurisdiction were allowed to do so? Would you be upset your 2nd Amendment rights were being violated?
My right to own and carry a firearm is guaranteed by the Second Amendment, yet I can’t carry my firearm, concealed or otherwise, in several U. S. cities. Go figure. I don’t want anything similar to happen with the First Amendment, and I intend to work on what’s been done to the Second.
My right to contraceptive coverage is covered nowhere in the Constitution/Bill of Rights.
Yet—even if Obamacare is validated by the Court—nothing’s preventing you from buying separate conraceptive coverage (which, as I said before, ought to be REALLY cheap, if the govt’s not lying) if it’s not covered in your employer’s policy. Why would this be any different from any other policy offered up to this point by an employer? Some offer eye and dental care, some don’t. Some offer lasix surgery coverage, others don’t. Some have higher, some lower, deductibles & premiums. If the employer doesn’t offer a particular plan, you handle it otherwise. This isn’t rocket science.