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BY BILL LAMBRECHT • St. Louis Post Dispatch

WASHINGTON • The controversial government mandate requiring birth control coverage at no cost to women employed by religion-affiliated institutions is winning voters’ support, especially from women.  But opinion is more closely divided on Sen. Roy Blunt’s proposal to allow employers to opt out of providing health care coverage on religious grounds.

Adults oppose Blunt proposal by a margin 44-40 percent, according to a United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection poll released this morning.  Blunt’s opponents argue that his legislation would open the door for employers to deny coverage for reasons beyond moral belief.

Adults who were polled support the mandate by 49-40 percent, a margin that reflects strongly divergent views by gender, race and political affiliation.

The poll found that women support the contraception rule 53-36 percent, perhaps an indication of why women’s groups and activists have begun using the dispute for organizing and raising money.

While gender lines were significant, there was an even bigger split in attitude by race. While whites are evenly divided on the mandate, minorities support it 2-1, the poll found.

Likewise, roughly 2-in-3 Democrats support President Barack Obama’s new mandate while 3-in-5 Republicans oppose it.  Independents were split evenly on the issue.

The poll of 1,005 adults has a potential error margin of 3.5 percent.

Read more here.

MO Representatives speak up after being ignored in the House.

Edited from the article from JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMOX) – Seven female representatives voiced outrage at being ignored for over 2 hours by Republican House leadership during a House floor discussion on a resolution to President Barack Obama’s contraception mandate.

The House debated a resolution (HCR41)  Wednesday that opposed the federal health care mandate. Republican representatives argued that the mandate would impede religious freedom and the federal government should not be involved in religious organizations.

Several women Democrats were not recognized by the Republican presiding officer, Rep. John Diehl, R-St. Louis County, as they stood for several hours at floor microphones to speak on the resolution.

Following afternoon djournment, seven female House members, calling themselves “the Silenced Seven,” held a news conference outside on the Capitol south steps. Democratic members of the group include State Representatives  Susan Carlson, Jeanne Kirkton, Margo McNeal, Stacey Newman and Jill Schupp of St. Louis, Mary Still of Columbia and Independent Tracy McCreery also of St. Louis. The representatives expressed anger by the lack of recognition during the debate, in which they said they believed they have more at stake because they are female and can get pregnant.

At the news conference where they were joined by many of the Minority Caucus in support, the seven said the lack of acknowledgment during the debate was “disrespectful, despicable and a blatant disregard” to women.

They said that this issue is unique to women, and that Republicans should end this “anti-woman agenda.”

“We will not be silenced again, I assure you,” Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis County, said.

Women in the group said they will continue to stand and demand recognition on the chamber floor until they are recognized.

During the chamber debate, many of the Democrats argued that this is a woman’s right issue, not an issue of religious liberty as argued by the Republicans.  Republicans eventually shut down debate over the resolution, stonewalling their Democratic counterparts from further discussing the issue.

The resolution was voted on and adopted by a 114-45 vote. While only one Republican voted in opposition, 12 Democrats joined the other side in favor of the resolution.

Diehl said he was not available for comment.

Virginia women have had enough, leading a silent protest against anti-abortion legislation outside the Virginia Sate Capitol yesterday. Missouri women should follow their example and protest Roy Blunt’s attack on women tomorrow at noon at his office in St. Louis!

By: WESLEY P. HESTER with contributions by Reed Williams| Richmond Times Dispatch

The revision still isn’t good enough for some organizations, including the Catholic Church, who has announced plans to oppose the new policy. U.S. Senators Mark Rubio (FL) and Joe Manchin (WV) have also drafted legislation to repeal the mandate, while Senator Roy Blunt (MO) has introduced an amendment – to a TRANSPORTATION bill of all things – that would allow employers and insurers to exclude specific health care if they morally object to it. We’re sure glad your morals are making decisions about our bodies, Roy. It’s also worth noting that men are leading this attack on contraception.

SEN LAMPING’S CONTRACEPTIVE BILL IN MISSOURI SENATE               

A Missouri Senate committee this week passed a bill that would allow employers to bypass, for religious reasons, insurance coverage for birth control, abortions and sterilizations. SB749, sponsored by state Sen. John Lamping, R-St. Louis County, WHO WAS FORMERLY KNOWN AS BEING A MODERATE, was filed in response to a recent federal mandate that church-run organizations provide birth control coverage for employees. That mandate has since been amended to require insurance companies to provide the coverage if the religious organization refuses. The state bill now goes to the full Missouri Senate for consideration.

In honor of Valentine’s Day (ok, it was yesterday), let’s take a look at how the battle rages on to protect women’s rights to abortion and birth control.

Pew Research Center, Released: February 14, 2012

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted Feb. 8-12 among 1,501 adults, finds sharp divisions on the issue by religious affiliation, party and ideology.

The Obama administration announced Feb. 10 that it would modify the mandate in response to criticism that the rule would force religious organizations to violate their religious beliefs in providing contraception coverage. The survey shows little difference in opinions among people interviewed before the administration’s proposed modification on Feb. 10 and those interviewed afterwards.

About six-in-ten Americans (62%) have heard about the proposed federal rule that would require employers, including most religiously affiliated institutions, to cover birth control as part of their health care benefits. Among those aware of the issue, opinion is closely divided over whether these institutions should be given an exemption to the rule if they object to the use of contraceptives: 48% support an exemption and 44% say they should be required to cover contraceptives like other employers.

Among Catholics who have heard at least a little about the issue, 55% favor giving religious institutions that object to the use of contraceptives an exemption from the federal rule, while 39% oppose exempting those institutions.

This study found that the people most interested in this issue are at either end of the political spectrum than those in the middle.  It is interesting that men overall (64%) had heard more about this issue than women overall (60%) and only 44% of women had heard about this issue between the ages of 18-49, who it would most directly affect.

Although the use of contraception is forbidden by church doctrine, few U.S. Catholics regard the use of contraceptives as morally wrong.  Let’s hope Catholics and women in particular become more knowledgable about this issue and decide to support women’s right to birth control and contraception.

The full Pew Research article can be found here.

Mark Hodges, KMOX Capitol Bureau –  February 14, 2012 8:26 AM

Supporters of Planned Parenthood spoke out against proposed Senate legislation that would make exceptions to President Barack Obama’s mandate requiring employers to cover contraception in health care plans.

Sen. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, said the Catholic Church as a business shouldn’t be exempt from Federal law.

“It’s really important to separate the concept of the religious institution, the community of believers, from the corporate entity,” Kelly said. “When a church, including my church, is behaving as a business, it ought to comply with a law having to do with the legal regulation of that particular business. I think that’s an easy principle to understand, or else we could all hide in religious exemptions.”

Democratic Whip Mike Colona described himself as the only openly gay male serving in the Missouri Legislature. He said he doesn’t care if people disagree with his lifestyle, but he does care if people infringe upon his rights.

“What bothers me is when you deny me health care coverage,” Colona said, comparing the discrimination he could face to that of a Catholic woman requesting birth control. “This is a public health issue. And the question becomes, when does that slippery slope get to the point where we say enough is enough.”

On the other side, Sen. John Lamping, R-St. Louis County, said every business should have a right to choose what health care coverage it provides to its employees.

“Health care is a benefit, and not all employers choose to offer that benefit,” Lamping said. “Up until now, employers could choose to offer the benefit however they saw fit. They could have a good plan, a bad plan, it could cover lots of things, it could cover a few things. Now, this really hits home.”

Sen. Scott Rupp, R-St. Charles County, introduced similar legislation. For him, it’s about religious freedom.

“This is just a full-frontal assault on religious liberty in the state,” Rupp said. “You have organizations that are now being told they have to go against their beliefs, and we’re going to force you to do that. I believe in the separation of Church and State, and I believe that the Federal government has no business telling religious organizations what they should and shouldn’t be doing.”

No action has been taken on any of these bills in either the House or the Senate.

Look here for original source from CBS St. Louis Local News from KMOX and here for the bills - SJR 49 and HB 1541.