Senate Defeats Opt-Out Measure for Birth Control Mandate

A proposed measure that would allow most employers with moral objections a way out of the federal mandate requiring that birth control be covered in employer-sponsored health insurance plans was tabled in the Senate on Thursday by a vote of 51 to 48. The measure, an addition to a highway funding bill known as the "Blunt Amendment" for its sponsor, Missouri Senator Roy Blunt, would have allowed any employer (not just religious ones) with a moral objection to preventive care to opt out of offering that care. Religious colleges have strenuously objected to the mandate, which they say violates their religious freedom.