Scott Brown, Elizabeth Warren Duel Over Obama Contraception Mandate

The Massachusetts U.S. Senate race between sitting Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren has reached a new frontier: the Boston Globe op-ed page.

The two have dueling op-eds in Friday's Globe over the Obama administration's contraception rule, requiring the health plans of most religiously-affiliated employers to cover contraception in their health plans. The Obama administration revised the rule allowing faith-based employers to shift the cost of contraceptive coverage to insurers if the employer morally objects to the rule.

"The federal government is now saying to religious hospitals and charities, 'Just do what you’re told, and leave the moral questions to us.' This over-reaching dictation from Washington is one reason I opposed and voted to repeal ObamaCare," writes Brown.

He later invokes the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), whose seat he won, as agreeing with him on a conscience exemption for Catholics in health care, citing a letter hand-delivered by President Barack Obama to Pope Benedict XVI shortly before the senator died of brain cancer. Unlike Brown, Kennedy strongly supported Obama's health care reform push and declared that universal health care was "the cause of my life."

Warren writes, "Washington is so out of touch with what’s happening to families across this country that the Senate is about to vote on an amendment that would allow any insurance company or any employer to claim a vague 'moral conviction' as an excuse to deny you health care coverage." She continues, "Here’s the really astonishing news: Senator Scott Brown is not only voting for this amendment, he is fighting to get it passed."

Brown and Warren have been fighting over the contraception prior to Friday's op-eds. The two have both released radio ads on the issue. Warren, in her ad, calls Brown's cosponsoring of the Blunt amendment "plain wrong." The measure crafted by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) would allow health plans to deny coverage for any service that violates their beliefs. Brown claimed that Warren assumed the "mantle of the oppressor" in a statement.

Neither Brown nor Warren is a Catholic. Massachusetts has the second-highest percentage of Catholics in the country but is also among the least religious states, according to Gallup.

Polling shows that the race is tight; one recent survey showed Brown with a statistically significant lead, while another showed Warren with a statistically insignificant edge.

Comments

[truly moderate]

03:58 PM on 02/28/2012

If this is bias, then so be it.

The liberal media is MAKING this into the GOP is against women.

Keep in mind money pays profits. Just saying. Choose with your heart, NOT because conservative talk radio or liberal media tells you so and so is....

[NILDATX]

12:23 PM on 02/27/2012

Abortions and contraceptics has nothing to do with HEALTH, but with CHOICE.
We all be happy having a second policy for those who want sex free for all.

[NILDATX]

12:19 PM on 02/27/2012

This is the first time in our history that a president demands to be re-elected, with poor performance. His main strength is one billion dollars for his campaign. Obama is developing the AMERICAN ROMAN CIRCUS. Instead of lions and gladiators OBAMA will throw a free for all of condoms, pills, abortions, homosexuality, promiscuous teens, young adults and adults. The good young students will be tempted to evolve, that will incapacitate their brains to study engineering, medicine ... The Hindus will keep answering the customer service from India and taking over the professional positions thanks to the work-visa promoted by Obama. Of course as he said, his daughters will be surrounded with security guard so they would not fall into temptation. The working parents would not concentrate at work thinking about their daughters. The risk of uterus cancer is very high in women with multiples partners. Obama is planning his future so well that I wonder about the brand new Health Insurance Company who received $54 million now and soon another $650 millions. How come he spent the People’s money without The Supreme Court final decision over Obama care? How is he so sure that it will be approved as to loan money that the People don’t have? There are many solid good companies already established. Why another one? Who will be making money in a new company starting with a loan from the People? We need to know the Obama’s connections involved.

[NILDATX]

11:54 AM on 02/27/2012

The Obama administration revised the rule allowing faith-based employers to shift the cost of contraceptive coverage to insurers if the employer morally objects to the rule.
"The federal government is now saying to religious hospitals and charities, 'Just do what you’re told, and leave the moral questions to us.' This over-reaching dictation from Washington is one reason I opposed and voted to repeal ObamaCare," writes Brown The Huffington Post Luke Johnson First Posted: 02/24/2012

[TheCentury21Thinker]

10:49 AM on 02/25/2012

pantherburns!!! You gotta clean up that language, boy!

[Randolph Greer]

10:24 PM on 02/24/2012

Scott Brown is toast in Massachusetts and he knows it. Warren demonstrates every day why she will be elected. She respects the values that advance the quality of human life for all. She believes in education, health care, and equality. And she knows that unless we have a strong middle class in this country our nation will wither on the vine. God Bless Elizabeth Warren. One of the greatest human beings in the world. How I envy the voters of Massachusetts. I would crawl on glass to vote for such a great person.

[dee50]

10:05 PM on 02/24/2012

Below there was a comment that was deleted, not sure why but well worth repeating.....

jokelly says:

It's so simple, a hospital or university is not a church It's a business, for profit, and receives federal money. The employees should be entitled to all legal protections, including insurance, that everyone else gets, nothing filtered through the religious organization that has decided to operate these businesses. No one is forcing anyone to use contraception who doesn't believe in it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXACTLY!!!!

[VoiceFrmLeft]

08:21 PM on 02/24/2012

Elizabeth Warren is about as smart as they come. Her campaign will be receiving a donation from me this week.

[candycorn]

07:20 PM on 02/24/2012

Women will vote this year like our life depends on it and believe me it does. We have men telling women what to do with their bodies. Women are with you Elizabeth. You will see how much at the polls. See you there ladies.

[eagle95124]

07:31 PM on 02/24/2012

There 's something i '. apparently missed . How does it work to the GOP/tp advantage to pick this fight with women voters . It makes no sense

[LynnW49]

08:59 PM on 02/24/2012

They think they are invincible because they have money and media outlets. We must prove them wrong.

[MHT73]

10:00 PM on 02/24/2012

It's to distract us from the lack of any jobs plan, and the attempts to increase the clout of the 0.01 percent (and I know that you write 1 percent as 1.0 percent).

[GettinBetter]

05:50 PM on 02/29/2012

Women can do whatever they want with their bodies....just pay for it yourselves...be self-reliant....every Democrat that wants something personal expects everyone else to pay for it...YOU pay for it...I'm gonna take care of my own family...you can do the same...your personal problems are just that-your personal problems...you solve them...leave me alone..

[wickedcare]

06:57 PM on 02/24/2012

I don't see why there should be any religious exemption to anyone, including religious institutions, if they're employers. One of the major goals of the health care reform is to create a basic standard of healthcare. The government's role in creating that standard should be to use purely statistical data to come up with what is best for the populace, both health-wise and financially. 98% of women use or have used birth control. The rate of population growth is unsustainable. Poorer women are unable to afford birth control (even though it seems inexpensive to those in the middle and upper economic class). People have a statistically higher standard of living with less children because they are able to wait to have children until after they've gone to college. Health care costs, and insurance costs would be reduced if unplanned pregnancies were cut by such and such percentage. I'm sure there should be numerous factors analyzed.
In a secular country with religious freedom, religious groups are free to preach all day about the evils of contraceptives, or whatever their tenets dictate, but when the government is setting health care standards for the good of the populace, it should be using science and medicine. And religious employers, as employers in this secular country, should be required to follow those rules. Sorry if a secular government's standards violate your beliefs, but in a secular government the decisions should be based on what's best for the people, not the religious institutions.

[jstanavgguy]

09:42 PM on 02/24/2012

Ok, let's see.

You are going to say that as employers, a church has no First Amendment rights, correct?

Wrong.

Freedom of religion is a First Amendment right. And to you know what SCOTUS case guaranteed First Amendment rights to businesses?

Citizens United.

While the topic was political donations, the overlying theme was freedom of speech. The SCOTUS determined that corporations, as a collection of individuals come together for a common purpose, had First Amendment rights.

Now, churches are a collection of individuals, gathered together for a common cause - their spiritual beliefs. And, thanks to Citizens United, those First Amendment rights are protected.

And freedom or religion is, and has been recognized by the courts, as a free speech issue.

[CoronaDischarge]

01:56 AM on 02/25/2012

Your imperfect understanding of the Establishment Clause aside, and your spurious adaption of a free speech argument notwithstanding, there is no longer any religious issue since an accommodation has already been specifically granted by this administration. At issue now is a poorly drafted bill (supported by the incumbent) that serves up a wholly unworkable conscience exemption to denying generally any health service to which any business or entity feigns a moral objection to.  

Moral objection to hip transplant ... strike it.
Moral objection to HIV  infections ... strike it.
Get the picture?

[Anoosh Hambarsumian]

06:56 PM on 02/24/2012

The only reason, I can think of, that Brown is either close to Warren or ahead, is that he is a good looking man and people are fooled by the good looks, thinking there's good in him. No matter what, as long as he is a Republican, it means that he is narrow-minded. Warren is intelligent and cares for her constituents.

[PitBull6]

10:55 PM on 02/26/2012

Narrow minded? Hello kettle, this is the pot...you're black.

[Anoosh Hambarsumian]

02:00 PM on 02/27/2012

I'm not black. White and 74 yrs. old!!

[alphakat333]

06:42 PM on 02/24/2012

Kick his butt, Liz!!!

[baileywick]

06:28 PM on 02/24/2012

Brown is toast, anyway.
Buh-bye.

[Viracocha711]

06:25 PM on 02/24/2012

How can Brown be ahead in Mass? If Brown is beating Warren then I am very scared what will happen in November! The Christian Right is taking over this nation & that is a very scary thought!!

[anothervoice2]

06:37 PM on 02/24/2012

That Suffolk Univ poll was a push poll for Brown!

[MHT73]

10:02 PM on 02/24/2012

Brown's the incumbent, and Warren is not yet the official Democratic nominee. As her name recognition increases, so does the percent of those who'd vote for her.

[olderthan]

06:18 PM on 02/24/2012

She's right. He's wrong.