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Ohio, Along with 12 Other States, Call for Contraceptive Exemption to Obamacare

Apr 8, 2013 |

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, along with 12 other state attorneys general, have urged the government to widen the spectrum of religious exemptions under Obamacare, claiming the policy violates religious freedoms.

Basically, under this request, any employer who says he or she objects to contraception should not have to provide insurance coverage of it to his or her employees.

The group of attorneys general issued a letter at the end of March accusing the proposed mandate of the Department of Human and Health Services as a violation of religious liberties. The proposal would require employers to provide contraceptive coverage to workers with the exception of some non-profit religious organizations, primarily house of worship, that would object to contraception use.

The proposal would require non-profit religious groups to identify as insurers or objectors, after which they would be granted an accommodation providing separate preventative coverage at no cost to the organization.

However, DeWine claims this method would still cost money and that the exemption should apply to all critics, including small businesses who may object to contraception.

At this point, the mandate is still only proposed and attorney generals are acting on their right to object during the public comment period, which ends April 8.

The attorneys general of Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia have also signed the letter.

The state of Ohio is also part of a “religious liberty lawsuit” against regulations stipulated by Obamacare.