WASHINGTON (JTA) — The National Council of Jewish Women expressed support for pending Obama administration regulations mandating employer-sponsored health plans for contraceptives and sterilization.
In formal comments filed Tuesday with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NCJW stated that “affordable health care services for women are essential to their well-being, health, and economic security.”
Specifically, NCJW stated that the organization was “deeply troubled” by the religious exemption in the new regulations and hoped that if the exemption is maintained, it keeps the definition “narrow and limited.”
“Restrictions that would prevent even one female worker from accessing affordable preventive care, as the refusal clause would do, are unacceptable,” NCJW said in the formal comments.
The Orthodox Union submitted formal comments on Monday that expressed concern that the regulations exempted houses of worship but not other religious entities, such as schools, hospitals and social welfare program providers.
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