The U.S. Senate rejected the Blunt amendment today that would have allowed businesses to opt out of mandates in the health care reform law if they violated their religious and moral beliefs.
The measure, portrayed as a reversal of the Obama administration's rule requiring that the insurers of religiously affiliated organizations provide FDA-approved contraceptives, just like other businesses, lost 51-48.
Sen. Tom Harkin and Dick Durbin voted against it. Sen. Chuck Grassley voted for it.
There's been a lot of attention paid to the Blunt measure and how the whole issue will play in this year's election cycle.
Democrats are trying to make this about women's reproductive rights.
For Republicans, it's all about religious freedom.
"The Blunt amendment responds to a decision by the Obama Administration to disregard the freedom of conscience supported by the First Amendment. The new federal rule in question, even as altered, is an affront to religious freedom, and the issue is whether religious-affiliated institutions will be able to practice their faith without government intrusion," Grassley said in a statement after the vote today.
Sen. Harkin said the measure would undermine the whole health care law. Here's what he had to say this morning, courtesy of Radio Iowa:
“It would allow any employer or any health plan to deny women access to contraception, mammograms, prenatal screenings, cervical cancer screenings and much more,” Harkin says. “It would allow employers and health insurance companies to deny coverage of any health services they find morally objectionable.”
This is a political fight that both parties seem quite eager to have. Both think they have the winning hand.
