Roy Blunt On Contraception Debate: 'I'm Confident This Issue Is Not Over'

WASHINGTON -- The Senate may have defeated a controversial GOP amendment that would have allowed employers to refuse to cover birth control and other health services, but the sponsor of that measure says to expect more fights on the matter.

"I'm confident this issue is not over," Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said after the failed vote on Thursday. "It won't be over until the administration figures out how to accommodate people's religious views as it relates to these new mandates."

The Senate voted 51 to 48 to reject Blunt's amendment, which would have nullified President Barack Obama's new contraception rule and allowed employers to refuse to cover any kind of health service for "moral reasons." Obama's mandate includes an exemption for churches and faith-based employers, but Republicans say that requiring any employer to cover health services they oppose is an attack on religious freedom.

Blunt said his amendment may have failed, but the issue of birth control and religious liberty needs more debate.

"These faith-based institutions will not be willing to change the character of who they are because the administration says you've got a year to change your religious views," he said. "That just will not happen."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) echoed Blunt's sentiment, saying before the vote that "this is just the beginning" of the fight to prevent the government from interfering with people's faith.

"If the government is allowed to tell people to buy health care, it won't stop there. I wonder what's next? This isn't about one particular religion -- it's about the right of any American to live out their faith without the government picking and choosing which doctrines they're allowed to follow," he said.

Senate Democrats, who hailed the defeat of Blunt's amendment as a victory for women, warned that Republicans should be prepared for political fall-out if they plan to force more votes on social issues instead of jobs-related measures. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) attached Blunt's amendment to an unrelated transportation bill in order to bring it to a vote this week, per GOP demands.

"If Republicans keep this up, they're going to drive away independent voters, women and men, just as they are driving moderates out of their caucus," Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters after the vote, referring to moderate GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) announcing her retirement this week after 33 years.

Schumer, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said some Republicans already seemed to regret forcing the issue to a vote because they were voting "with clenched teeth." He hinted that one senator in particular, Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), could be in trouble with his constituents for his vote. Brown is facing a tough reelection campaign against Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren.

"I don't envy the rank-and-file Republicans who walked the plank on this vote," Schumer said. "I think it's going to be awfully hard to defend it back home, especially in places like New England."

Asked later why he thinks Brown is in trouble now, Schumer said Thursday's vote puts him on par with extremists in his party.

"Scott Brown's trying to portray himself as a moderate? Well, this vote shows he's not very moderate," he said. "This is one of the most extreme amendments that has come up."

Comments

[Kenz300]

08:17 PM on 03/11/2012

The Republican war on women will not end until they are all voted out of office.

[ennis438]

09:26 PM on 03/02/2012

With sick people like Blunt and McConnell who have a very strong anti-women agenda and pretent to use religion as a reason for their bigoted agenda, I am sure their dirty tricks are not over. These people , like Hitler and many others in history, use religion when it is in their interest. Funny you never see these war lovers use the Catholic church though when they keep up their pro war agenda, though. The church is against their war loving stance and never do you hear anything about the church when they start wars all over the world. Or their stance against the poor and middle class in the USA. Again, the Catholic church disagrees. Just like Hitler, religion is used by these bigots when and only when it is in their interest.

[dws51564]

08:32 PM on 03/02/2012

"Blunt said his amendment may have failed, but the issue of birth control and religious liberty needs more debate."
I other words we are going to keep trying to withhold care from women based on our religious views. Who cares if those views hurt women or if those women don't have the same beliefs that Cons have.

[mshowe]

05:25 PM on 03/02/2012

Isn't this issue one of the most fundamental issues of personal responsibility? You can get contraception for $5 per month at wal-mart. Exactly why should everyone else pay for someone elses sexual behavior. I don't care how much or what kind of sex you are having. Just don't make me pay for it.

This issue makes absolutely no sense. Anyone giving this issue more than 5 seconds of thought has mental capacity issues. This is a non-issue. Why are we even talking about it? Get a life people.

[davidram43]

03:17 AM on 03/03/2012

We are talking about it to divert attention from more important issues that are also more telling of the GOP.

I forget but would like to know what bill this "amendment" was attached.

[janalyce]

12:22 PM on 03/02/2012

"The government is interfering with people's religious beliefs."

Hmmmmm.

"I believe in everything in the Bible, especially the Old Testament.

Since the Blount amendment was passed, I don't have to worry about the government interfering in my practicing my beliefs. The lady next door has sex with a man other than her husband. I'm going to gather up some of my fellow believers and stone her to death.

I've also seen a local guy driving off to the golf course on the Sabbath. That's also a stoning offense. We'll get to him as soon as we finish with the adulteress.

I'm short of money, but I have three daughters. I'm planning to sell them into slavery, which the Bible tells me is okay. Should make enough to retire.

That'll give me time to deal with the Wiccans down the street, who need to be burned, bad, since the Bible says "Do not suffer a witch to live." Yeah, I know they claim to not be "witches" but the only thing that matters are MY religious beliefs, right? Anyone know where I can get a big can of lighter fluid?

Heard that a guy in the next town has converted to the old Aztec religion and is planning to grab a homeless guy and cut his living heart out next Saturday. I don't hold with that kind of thing, but I might go watch."

The government HAS the right to interfere with relgious beliefs. Thank God.

I

[GJCO-JMH]

05:21 PM on 03/02/2012

Don't be ridiculous.

[janalyce]

07:02 PM on 03/02/2012

I'm being satirical, not ridiculous.

And I think I made my point.

[oleperfessur]

11:50 AM on 03/02/2012

Have mentioned this before but when a religious organization employes people they are not a church, they are an employer subject to the same rules and regulations as any other employer. If they don't like this, then they should refuse federal funds. Oh....then Catholic Charities would lose about 62% of their tax free income.

[GJCO-JMH]

05:54 PM on 03/02/2012

Sorry, but no one is saying religious-based institutions are Churches... and the First Amendment applies to *people* even when they're not sitting in a Church.

You do realize that all CHARITIES are tax exempt. Oh... and who really loses when ANY charity loses income?

If you don't like it, don't donate your money to any church or church-sponsored food-drive or homeless shelter... and by all means NEVER go to the ER in any religious hospital. 'kay? No one will miss your spiteful attitude one iota.

[jnesteljr]

11:35 AM on 03/02/2012

He is right about it not being over.

Now comes the pain in the form of a Women getting out to vote and making their values, convictions and rights heard in Nov

Democrats 2012!

[spmazanek]

03:11 PM on 03/02/2012

Why do you think that women are unable to truly understand the issue? That is an insult to all women.

[GJCO-JMH]

06:09 PM on 03/02/2012

What makes you think it's only *women* who don't understand freedom of religious conscience?

[jnesteljr]

09:08 PM on 03/02/2012

It's your party that is insulting and assaulting Women.

You should take up the issue with them!

[offcenterlevi]

11:32 AM on 03/02/2012

We seem to be the only country in the world that expects employers to provide health insurance. This of course puts our companies at a competitive disadvantage. We had a chance with health reform to adopt a single payer government sponsored system. Many other countries do this with good results. It eliminates redundancies in insurance bureaucracy and is much less expensive. Health outcomes are also better since everyone is covered and entitled to preventative as well as acute care. Our moderate (not socialist) president took this option off the table and left coverage in the hands of corporations and private insurance companies, not government. If we were to let employers opt out of any coverage with which they had a moral objection, we would be on a slippery slope. Some religions, for instance, have a moral objection to life saving blood transfusions.

[lblackw105]

11:11 AM on 03/02/2012

The GOP/TP "Assault On America" has a new episode. I am a man, and I really don't want my employer to make my health care decisions, either. This is not only anti-woman, it's anti-working-American. Go get them, working women !

[OldandGnu]

11:25 AM on 03/02/2012

About time somebody pointed that out..: )
What the Republicans are pretending is a religious issue is ACTUALLY about giving your boss or mine a way to avoid providing what others get routinely in their Insurance "package" as long as he can come up with some contrived "moral" objection to it. It's a JOKE, and luckily most people SEE that.

[GJCO-JMH]

07:06 PM on 03/02/2012

Sorry, if your employer doesn't PAY for YOUR birth control decisions, you're still free to make any health decision you want, including YOUR OWN choice of birth control. In fact, trot right on down to PP and pick up a free handful any time you like. Pass 'em around at work.

Oh wait... you mean you thought it was *your* decision that women should ingest, inject or insert artificial hormones, chemicals or devices instead? Go get 'em tiger.

And... if you don't want your employer making your health care decisions for you (neither do I!)... you're gonna really love a government bureaucrat doing so. Done with spreading the joy? Step right up... snip, snip... much more reliable and cheaper than pharmaceuticals... especially for "your" woman. LOL

[lblackw105]

10:30 PM on 03/03/2012

You're trying to sell us Palin's "death panels" again, aren't you ?

[jstreet]

10:59 AM on 03/02/2012

Walk the plank, Mr. Brown,
Till you feel yourself falling down
Then hit the surface, falling steep
And descend into the briny deep

[97034Leftofcenter]

10:49 AM on 03/02/2012

There used to be a bumper sticker that stated " if you don't believe in abortion, don't have one" to which you an add " if you don't believe in birth control, don't use it", BUT the first amendment is not only freedom of religion, but also freedom FROM religion. The far right is NOT qualified to make these decions for half the US population, they are only qualified to make them for themselves.

[GJCO-JMH]

07:21 PM on 03/02/2012

How 'bout this bumper sticker:

Pro-Choice Not to Pay for Your-Choice

[tlee47ftw]

10:49 AM on 03/02/2012

I hope Senator Blunt is right. I hope this is not the end of it. In fact, I hope a lot of Republicans lose their jobs over this flagrant attack on women's rights.

[ubthejudge]

11:32 AM on 03/02/2012

blunt is just a stammering drunk, like many others in the senate and house, this makes him feel like he is something!!!

[oleperfessur]

12:01 PM on 03/02/2012

If you look at the picture, he looks like a drunken Satyr! Or maybe a world class lecher.

[OregonCoaster]

10:45 AM on 03/02/2012

"This issue is not over?" Not if the Republicans can keep it alive instead of dealing with jobs and the economics of the Bush era class warfare against the middle class.

It's all about distraction. Voters know economics is important and can destroy their lives and cost them their homes but sex and contraception is so much easier to get excited about. It's in our DNA--we're programmed to pay attention to one and not programmed to pay attention to the other.

[janalyce]

12:25 PM on 03/02/2012

Bingo! Pure political ploy.

Remember that "jobs bill" the House GOPers said would be their top-of-the-agenda-item if they won a majority in 2010? Has that coming, guys? When y'all going to get around to that? Really, guys....when?

Guys?

[Crickets.]

[GJCO-JMH]

07:33 PM on 03/02/2012

Oh Haaaarry - where IS the GOP plan and all the other 15+ GOP Bills passed in the House and passed on to the Senate, never to be spoken about since?

Harry?

[Crickets]

[he must have run out of room on the "Tabled" table.. or maybe just run out of the room]

[tpcinaz]

10:44 AM on 03/02/2012

Let me be Blunt....

()o()

[c0astalgreens]

10:39 AM on 03/02/2012

We have so many godless teens getting pregnant and then abort, or throw their new born babies into dumpsters. We have godless mothers who neglect or kill their kids because life is too short, caring is a waste of time, neglecting and partying is a lot better because, to them, there is no God to worry. These reasons alone are enough for Religious People to support contraception and help sexually active godless people not to conceive so there would be no life to abort or child to be neglected or murdered. If Religious Institutions really wants to prevent abortions by godless people, then supporting contraception is the practical moral way. Contraception can also help those God loving people who are sexually active but can not afford anymore babies, otherwise they could succumbed into the temptation to abort for economic reasons.

[phatphred]

12:33 PM on 03/03/2012

Not sure about all the godless people, but that is the argument that I also have with people like Santorum...because its not like catholic women are not sexually active, contraception will in fact cut down on unwanted pregnancies ( even with married women ) and thus elimnate a lot of abortions. Its not like people are going to stop having sex...sometimes they bit off thei noses to spite their faces!

[c0astalgreens]

01:32 PM on 03/03/2012

And that is the reason why I will still vote for President Obama who makes more sense than any of the republican candidates. Paying for contraception is a lot cheaper and better than doing nothing to prevent conception that can lead to the immoral & expensive killing of human species inside an atheists' wombs.

I also believe that President Obama is true to his faith in a Loving GOD than any of the republican candidates who could be using God's name, like former President Bush, to get elected. President Obama is I believe a true moral leader who is in the side of God as shown by his deeds of caring 100% of God's children not just 1%. God is anti-war and so is President Obama, I believe.