Obama's phony contraception "compromise"

News outlets nevertheless reported the administration’s spin as fact. Reuters claimed “the revised approach puts the burden on insurance companies, ordering them to provide workers at religious-affiliated institutions with free family planning if they request it, without involving their employer at all.” The New York Times called the new approach a “concession,” saying it “shifts the cost to insurers.”

And what prevents insurers from shifting it back? The White House argues that there will be no need, because providing 100 percent coverage for contraception and sterilization saves insurers money by preventing expensive pregnancies and births.

It is not clear why profit-driven businesses must be compelled to do something that supposedly boosts their bottom lines. Testifying at last week’s congressional hearing, Catholic University President John Garvey called the administration’s cost argument a “Shazam Theory” that “resolves the intrusion on religious liberty by making the compelled contributions magically disappear.” Even if the administration were right about the net financial impact of its mandate, Garvey added, his university still would be “forced to pay for…activities we view as immoral.”