In February 2012, the Obama Administration revealed regulatory details for "women's preventative care," part of ObamaCare's "minimum essential coverage." First-dollar coverage for all forms of FDA-approved contraception would be required in all plans on August 1.
But that was just the beginnging of the story.
A Republican committee in the House held a hearing on the mandate, but famously barred the minority witness, Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke. This catapulted Ms. Fluke to DNC-level fame during the 2012 election year, and fueled Democrat talking points about a Republican "War on Women."
It turns out that support or opposition to this contraception mandate (like every other political issue) does not cleanly break down on gender lines. There are many women opposed to the mandate, and for many reasons.
Helen Alvare, a professor of law at George Mason University, started a group called "Women Speak for Themselves." Her group is hosting a rally today across the street from the White House. They produced this video about their work:
Because of men and women speaking out, and because of pushback from over 200 plaintiffs in lawsuits challenging the mandate, the Obama Administration was forced to change its compliance deadline from today (August 1) to January 1, 2014. This delay is hardly a victory: this unconstitutional mandate is still on the horizon for many employers who will be forced to choose between obeying their God or their government.
Alvare and many of the hundreds of women gathered here in DC today rightly oppose the mandate because it violates their religious beliefs. But as we have pointed out at IWF many times, there are important reasons for people of all religious backgrounds (even non-religious people) to oppose this mandate. Not only is is bad for religious liberty, it will lead to unintended consequences that affect us all. Read more in this fact sheet.
We salute the efforts of women at the "Women Speak for Themselves" rally. Do you think President Obama will hear us from the White House lawn?