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Despite contraception compromise, Catholic bishops, Congressional Republicans vow to continue fight

At Masses across the country Sunday, Roman Catholic priests blasted the Obama administration's compromise on contraceptive insurance coverage, a sign the White House's backtrack late last week did little to defuse the controversy. The new policy requires religious employers such as universities and charities to cover contraception in employee health plans but shifts the responsibility for paying for it away from the employer and on to its health-insurance provider. Previously, the administration had required all employers apart from churches to cover contraception in their employee-insurance plans.

14 Feb 2012

New contraceptive rule has precedents in federal, state law

NPR reports that not much has changed in the new regulation other than requiring coverage for contraceptives at no cost, while CNN reports on the escalating "rhetorical war" in Washington.

13 Feb 2012

Birth control mandate is a rallying cry in presidential campaigns

Rick Santorum said Thursday that arguments against a recent federal law requiring health insurance coverage for contraception were not ignoring the rights of women. "It's the churches' money, and forcing them to do something that they think is a grievous moral wrong, how can that be the right of a woman?" Santorum asked in an interview on CNN's "John King USA".

13 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 13, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations preview President Barack Obama's budget, which will be released today, and examine the lingering controversy over mandates on contraceptive coverage.

13 Feb 2012

Bishops, GOP candidates push back against Obama's contraception compromise

News outlets reported on the buzz generated by President Barack Obama's announcement yesterday of a compromise on the administration's requirement that most health plans provide birth control access for free.

13 Feb 2012

Catholics choosing sides in contraception battle as bishops lead fight again Obama administration

When after much internal debate the Obama administration finally announced its decision to require religiously affiliated hospitals and universities to cover birth control in their insurance plans, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops were fully prepared for battle. Seven months earlier, they had started laying the groundwork ... the birth control mandate, issued on Jan. 20, was their Pearl Harbor.

13 Feb 2012

Obama administration signals contraception compromise

The Obama administration, seeking to rein in a runaway political furor over birth control and religious liberty, is set to announce a possible compromise on Friday that is meant to calm ire from the right about a new administration rule that would require health insurance plans - including those offered by Roman Catholic hospitals, universities and charities - to offer free birth control to female employees.

13 Feb 2012

Obama readies compromise on birth control mandate

The Obama administration Friday morning signaled a new compromise on a rule that would require even most religious employer health plans to cover contraception at no cost to employees.

13 Feb 2012

Watson seeks FDA approval to market generic Beyaz

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol and Levomefolate Calcium Tablets, 3.0 mg/0.02 mg/0.451 mg and Levomefolate Calcium Tablets, 0.451 mg.

13 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Contraception as Obama's 'gospel'; The right balance? Freedom at risk?; Examining Medicaid mandate

These guidelines, which increase access to contraceptive services for women while upholding the religious liberty of churches, mosques and synagogues, strike the proper balance between respecting the religious beliefs of all Americans and protecting the health of American women and families. They will reduce health costs, end long-standing gender discrimination in prescription drug coverage and further enable women to lead healthier lives.

13 Feb 2012

Some high-profile Catholic Democrats are criticizing HHS rule

Sens. Robert Casey and Joe Manchin, Rep. John Larson and Obama adviser Tim Kaine are breaking with the White House on the contraception controversy.

10 Feb 2012

Group seeks to reopen case over access to Plan B

Women's advocacy group seeks wider access to Plan B contraceptive, while study reports lowest teen pregnancy rate in decades.

10 Feb 2012

Congressional Republicans vow to overturn contraception rule

Speaker John Boehner was among those who promised Wednesday to get rid of the administration's regulation that would require religious employers, such as hospitals, charities and universities, to cover free birth control for employees.

10 Feb 2012

White House scrambles for compromise on birth control rule

Officials say Obama remains committed to the HHS regulation, amid indications they are exploring ways to get around religious groups' complaints.

10 Feb 2012

Six times more teenage girls being given contraceptive implants

According to new figures the number of girls aged 15 or younger having contraceptive implants has risen six-fold in only five years. Some 4,900 teenagers below the age of consent were given the devices last year, up from 800 in 2005/6.

9 Feb 2012

Obama aides seek to calm storm over contraceptive rule

Administration suggests there may be ways to meet religious groups' concerns but insists that the president is committed to the policy. Sen. Mitch McConnell suggests Congress may change the rule if the administration doesn't.

9 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Political furor on contraceptive policy; Confusing estimates of Medicare's costs

The political furor over President Obama's birth-control mandate continues to grow, even among those for whom contraception poses no moral qualms, and one needn't be a theologian to understand why. The country is being exposed to the raw political control that is the core of the Obama health-care plan, and Americans are seeing clearly for the first time how this will violate pluralism and liberty.

9 Feb 2012

Legal challenges likely next step as flap over birth control rule continues

News outlets report on the clash between the Obama administration and Catholic leaders.

8 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: GOP dragging heels on payroll tax, doc fix plan; Opinions still heated on contraception rule

Republicans in Congress seem to have forgotten the embarrassment they suffered late last year for trying to block a payroll tax cut for millions of wage-earners.

7 Feb 2012

Vending machine to dispense “morning after pills” at college sparks debate

Now students at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania can get the “morning after” pill by sliding $25 into a vending machine, an idea that has drawn the attention of federal regulators and raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be.

7 Feb 2012