Gillibrand approves of Obama's contraception compromise
Kirsten Gillibrand speaks. EMILY's List, via flickr
12:20 pm Feb. 10, 2012
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is satisfied with the White House's latest compromise on contraception.
“While I remain dumbfounded that in the year 2012 we still have to fight over birth control," Gillibrand said in a statement, "I commend the White House for its final rule that adheres to a core principle that the power to decide whether or not each individual woman uses contraception should be with that woman – not with her boss."
This morning, the Obama administration backed off slightly from its decision to require church-affiliated institutions (like hospitals and colleges) to provide contraceptive coverage to their female employees, announcing that it would instead require insurance companies to coordinate and pay for contraceptive care. On a conference call, a senior administration official stressed that this maintained the administration's "core principle" that all women would have access to contraceptive coverage, without requiring that religious institutions directly provide it.
Gillibrand has been one of the more outspoken opponents of the Republicans' "war on women," and she vigorously defended the administration's original policy in multiple interviews yesterday, even as some of her Democratic colleagues in the Senate were breaking ranks and urging the White House to re-think the proposal.
While the administration seemed to be aniticipating some continued criticism from religious leaders over today's announcement, Gillibrand's support would seem to indicate that progressive women won't be hitting the White House from the left too.
Her full statement, sent out today:
“While I remain dumbfounded that in the year 2012 we still have to fight over birth control, I commend the White House for its final rule that adheres to a core principle that the power to decide whether or not each individual woman uses contraception should be with that woman – not with her boss. This common sense rule will ensure that every single woman in America has access to the full range of preventive health care while respecting the teachings of religious institutions.
“This debate has been just the latest political overreach by politicians to roll back access to birth control and undermine women’s health. It is a fight that continues today in the U.S. Senate with outrageous legislation by Senators Blunt and Rubio that would take away women’s rights by allowing any employer to refuse health care services on religious grounds. We will not stand for these attempts to undermine the ability of women to make their own decisions. If my Republican colleagues want to continue to take this issue head on, we stand ready to oppose any attacks launched against women's rights and women's health.”
