President Obama will announce a plan today that attempts to accommodate religious employers opposed to a rule that would require them to provide access to birth control for women free of charge.
Senior administration officials who spoke on background until Obama announces the change said in cases where employers have religious objections, their insurance companies will be required to reach out to employees and offer the coverage directly.
The administration announced last month that religious-affiliated employers had to cover birth control as preventive care for women. Churches and houses of worship were exempt, but all other affiliated organizations were ordered to comply by August 2013.
The White House received backlash to the measure from Catholic clergy as well as Republican leaders this week.
A senior administration source, who asked for anonymity because the president has yet to make an announcement on the decision, bristled at the suggestion that the new plan was a compromise.
"We're sticking to principle in terms of guaranteeing free contraceptive coverage for women," said the official.
In a memo to reporters Friday morning, the Republican National Committee said Obama is trying to "ride the fence" on the issue.
"It's a dangerous game when dealing with a fundamental American right protected by the Constitution such as religious freedom," the RNC said in the memo.
House Speaker John Boehner this week called the mandate "an unambiguous attack on religious freedom" in a rare House floor speech and vowed legislative action to reverse it.
"If the president does not reverse the attack on religious freedom, then the Congress, acting on behalf of the American people and the Constitution we are sworn to uphold and defend, must," Boehner said. "This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country must not stand and will not stand."
Republican leaders have been joined by a few Democrats -- such as Sens. Robert Casey of Pennsylvania and Joe Manchin of West Virginia and House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson of Connecticut -- in calling for changes in the policy. Vice President Biden vowed in Ohio Thursday that a solution would be forthcoming.
The White House has pointed to 28 states with similar laws, including eight without the religious exemption contained in the federal rule, as proof that requiring free access to contraceptives is workable.
The rule goes into effect Aug. 1, but if objections are raised, another year's extension is possible.
That's been no consolation to Catholic leaders. The White House is "all talk, no action" on moving toward compromise, said Anthony Picarello, general counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"There has been a lot of talk in the last couple days about compromise, but it sounds to us like a way to turn down the heat, to placate people without doing anything in particular," Picarello said this week. "We're not going to do anything until this is fixed."
That means removing the provision from the health care law altogether, he said, not simply changing it for Catholic employers and their insurers. He cited the problem that would create for "good Catholic business people who can't in good conscience cooperate with this."
"If I quit this job and opened a Taco Bell, I'd be covered by the mandate," Picarello said.
Senate Democrats who met with Obama on Wednesday came away convinced he would not back down on requiring some form of access for all women, regardless of where they work.
"We support the right of women in this country to have access to birth control through their insurance policies, and anybody who stands in the way is going to have to deal with us and our friends," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., flanked by four colleagues. Boxer said she had spoken to Obama adviser David Axelrod, who assured her that the administration would not weaken its position.
More than 600 physicians and medical students from 49 states signed a letter to Obama and Sebelius on Wednesday, urging them to stand firm in defense of the rule. They said millions of women rely on birth control pills for other medical conditions.
Roman Catholic leaders showed no sign of backing down, either.
"There's no room for compromise on this. The mandate has to go," said John Allen, senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and author of numerous books on the Catholic church. "There's not much room for a conversation here."
Contributing: Richard Wolf
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