Sex, Obama and the Catholic Church

The fierce pushback by the Catholic bishops of the United States to the health care regulations introduced by Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services was highly predictable, and it reflected a major miscalculation by the Obama Administration.

HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, and President Obama
at the beginning of yesterday's press briefing on
health care regulations.  (TV Screenshot/Dick Bergeron)

Announced several weeks ago, those regulations would have compelled Catholic organizations such as hospitals, universities, and charities to pay for health care insurance coverage that includes contraception, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs.

This edict was facilitated by the czar-like authority which Kathleen Sebelius possesses under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).  In her pronouncement, she provided for a one-year cooling-off period, during which opponents would be expected to work out a conscience-clause solution that would presumably meet the needs of the Obama Administration and of Catholic service agencies.

But this meant that negotiations would extend well beyond the November, 2012 presidential election.  Apparently, the bishops and others smelled mendacity in the room.