CONTRACEPTION

Catholic Group Backs Contraception Policy Change

While Republicans scoff at health-care compromise.

A key Catholic group has backed President Obama’s Friday announcement that he would not enforce a provision of the health-care law that required religious institutions to pay for women’s birth control. Sister Carol Keehan of the Catholic Health Organization said the president “has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed.” Keehan and the support of her organization represent exactly who Obama was hoping to win over: Catholic Democrats. Obama apparently spoke to Keehan and Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the head of the U.S. Conference of Bishops and a cardinal-designate, before announcing the policy change—but it’s unclear what exactly they discussed. While the Republican candidates for president were quick to say they opposed the health-care law in the first place, conservatives remained unmoved by the policy shift, with Rick Santorum saying Friday that the debate had “not been about birth control” but about “economic liberty.”