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The Press: "Hello, everybody."
The President: That was pretty good.
The Press: I've been working on that.
The President: Hello, everybody.
(laughter)
I was actually going to say, "Good morning."
But I guess it's afternoon by now.
As part of the health care reform law that I signed last
year, all insurance plans are required to cover preventive
care at no cost.
That means free check-ups, free mammograms,
immunizations and other basic services.
We fought for this because it saves lives and it saves money
-- for families, for businesses, for government, for everybody.
That's because it's a lot cheaper to prevent an illness
than to treat one.
We also accepted a recommendation from the experts
at the Institute of Medicine that when it comes to women,
preventive care should include coverage of contraceptive
services such as birth control.
In addition to family planning, doctors often prescribe
contraception as a way to reduce the risks of ovarian and other
cancers, and treat a variety of different ailments.
And we know that the overall cost of health care is lower
when women have access to contraceptive services.
Nearly 99% of all women have relied on contraception at some
point in their lives -- 99%.
And yet, more than half of all women between the ages of 18 and
34 have struggled to afford it.
So for all these reasons, we decided to follow the judgment
of the nation's leading medical experts and make sure that free
preventive care includes access to free contraceptive care.
Whether you're a teacher, or a small businesswoman, or a nurse,
or a janitor, no woman's health should depend on who she is or
where she works or how much money she makes.
Every woman should be in control of the decisions that affect
her own health.
Period.
This basic principle is already the law in 28 states across
the country.
Now, as we move to implement this rule, however,
we've been mindful that there's another principle at stake here
-- and that's the principle of religious liberty,
an inalienable right that is enshrined in our Constitution.
As a citizen and as a Christian, I cherish this right.
In fact, my first job in Chicago was working with Catholic
parishes in poor neighborhoods, and my salary was funded by a
grant from an arm of the Catholic Church.
And I saw that local churches often did more good for a
community than a government program ever could,
so I know how important the work that faith-based organizations
do and how much impact they can have in their communities.
I also know that some religious institutions --
particularly those affiliated with the Catholic Church --
have a religious objection to directly providing insurance
that covers contraceptive services for their employees.
And that's why we originally exempted all churches from this
requirement -- an exemption, by the way, that eight states
didn't already have.
And that's why, from the very beginning of this process,
I spoke directly to various Catholic officials,
and I promised that before finalizing the rule as it
applied to them, we would spend the next year working with
institutions like Catholic hospitals and Catholic
universities to find an equitable solution that protects
religious liberty and ensures that every woman has access to
the care that she needs.
Now, after the many genuine concerns that have been raised
over the last few weeks, as well as, frankly,
the more cynical desire on the part of some to make this into a
political football, it became clear that spending months
hammering out a solution was not going to be an option,
that we needed to move this faster.
So last week, I directed the Department of Health and Human
Services to speed up the process that had already
been envisioned.
We weren't going to spend a year doing this;
we're going to spend a week or two doing this.
Today, we've reached a decision on how to move forward.
Under the rule, women will still have access to free preventive
care that includes contraceptive services --
no matter where they work.
So that core principle remains.
But if a woman's employer is a charity or a hospital that has a
religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part
of their health plan, the insurance company --
not the hospital, not the charity --
will be required to reach out and offer the woman
contraceptive care free of charge,
without co-pays and without hassles.
The result will be that religious organizations won't
have to pay for these services, and no religious institution
will have to provide these services directly.
Let me repeat: These employers will not have to pay for,
or provide, contraceptive services.
But women who work at these institutions will have access to
free contraceptive services, just like other women,
and they'll no longer have to pay hundreds of dollars a year
that could go towards paying the rent or buying groceries.
Now, I've been confident from the start that we could work out
a sensible approach here, just as I promised.
I understand some folks in Washington may want to treat
this as another political wedge issue, but it shouldn't be.
I certainly never saw it that way.
This is an issue where people of goodwill on both sides of the
debate have been sorting through some very complicated questions
to find a solution that works for everyone.
With today's announcement, we've done that.
Religious liberty will be protected,
and a law that requires free preventive care will not
discriminate against women.
We live in a pluralistic society where we're not going to agree
on every single issue, or share every belief.
That doesn't mean that we have to choose between individual
liberty and basic fairness for all Americans.
We are unique among nations for having been founded upon both
these principles, and our obligation as citizens is to
carry them forward.
I have complete faith that we can do that.
Thank you very much, everybody.