BILL PRESS: And now, bringing the birth control debate to Sunday Mass.
In our number-one story on the "Countdown" tonight — Catholic church parishioners across the country this weekend heard letters read from the pulpit scolding the Obama administration for a recent federal rule requiring that all faith-based schools, hospitals and charities pay for contraceptive services under their health-care coverage beginning next year.
At a town hall in Jacksonville, Florida today, Newt Gingrich echoed the outrage from religious leaders, who say this rule is an assault on religious liberty.
(Excerpt from video clip) GINGRICH: The Obama administration is engaged in a war against religion. The Obamacare standard of what you have to buy as insurance is a direct violation of freedom of religion and an example of the increasingly dictatorial attitude of this administration.
PRESS: Though the church formally forbids all birth control aside from abstinence, surveys have found that 98 percent of sexually-active Catholic women in America have used contraceptives. But according to Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik, the administration's message to Catholics is quite clear: "To hell with your religious beliefs. To hell with your religious liberty. To hell with your freedom of conscience."
Well, joining us now to talk about this — Eleanor Smeal, a good friend and president of the Feminist Majority Foundation. Ellie, it's good to see you tonight. Thank you for joining us.
ELEANOR SMEAL: Good seeing you, Bill.
PRESS: So look, the pope is in his late 80s here, Ellie, why are you picking on the Catholic church and the pope?
SMEAL: We're not picking on the Catholic church. In fact, you know, they keep getting it all wrong. All we're saying is that you can't discriminate against women who want access. And, remember, this is in their public accommodations, or public services. This is them as an employer in hospitals, or in charity services, or in education, colleges and universities. And they are offering a service for which they're receiving money, and their students who go there — or their employees — are not all Catholics. They're all different kinds of religions.
And, even the Catholics who are Catholics might not agree with the bishops on birth control. As you just said, most Catholics practice birth control just as Protestants or anybody else. So, what this would be doing is taking away a benefit from a woman. And, right now, birth control is the number-one expense for women of childbearing ages, out-of-pocket expense in heath care.
PRESS: Well, sort of playing devil's advocate here — don't these women have a choice of going somewhere else to get the Pill, or whatever? They don't have to go to that Catholic hospital. And isn't this forcing the Catholic hospital to do something which is against their, at least for the time, established policy of the church?
SMEAL: No, no, no, they're not getting the Pill from the hospital. What this is, the insurance coverage for the employee would include — if it includes other FDA-approved drugs — they couldn't exclude from their package contraception. The employee then goes to buy it at their pharmacy or wherever they normally buy it. The same thing for the — for the kids, it's their health-insurance plan.
And you can't just say, "Well, no, we're going to discriminate against this and make you pay for it." Remember, this is — it's a part of the preventive-care package. So, they won't have to pay. And actually, it doesn't cost the church anything, or the administration — let's put it this way, the employer. It doesn't cost them anything because it's cheaper, really, than the alternative. So, it actually decreases costs for the program.
PRESS: Is this contraception — this ruling — part of a bigger picture? I mean, is this the new abortion debate, I guess is what I'm asking — contraception? There's been a lot of talk about it. Santorum's not the only one talking about it. We have that initiative down in Mississippi. What's going on here?
SMEAL: What's going on is that, for some reason, the bishops have decided to attack birth control. You know, they are lobbying against the family-planning program. And we're not talking abortion, that's off the — we're talking about the provision of contraception. And this has been a part of our program since about 1972, as supported by the Republicans and Democrats.
Suddenly, the church is pushing this line that is saying, "No birth control." And they're trying to treat it like abortion. And reality is — this is 2011. Most heterosexuals use birth control at some time in their life. And if the candidates actually said, "We want birth control outlawed," believe me, this whole show would be over. I mean, the public is not there.
PRESS: Just quickly — about 20 seconds — President Obama, is this a fight that he should have picked in this election year 2012 against —
SMEAL: Well, he didn't pick the fight. He didn't really pick the fight. Let's be real clear about this. Twenty-eight states already do this in their health — this is a health-insurance provision. And frankly, women want access. They don't want their insurance coverage to be — they don't want to be discriminated against in their insurance coverage. And right now — the affordable-care access, you can't discriminate against women.
PRESS: So, that's what this is. Right.
SMEAL: Yes, and he's just standing firm against terrible pressure.
PRESS: Ellie Smeal, got to go. Thanks again for your leadership on some of the issues.
SMEAL: Good seeing you.
PRESS: Thanks for being with us tonight.
