Arizona Bill Gives Religious Employers Exceptions for Contraceptive Coverage - ABC News "Strange Fruit Burns Fat" Study: Sheds 8.9 Pounds in Just 28 Days. Melissa Turns $79 Into $2,964 Can It Work for You? Fountain Hills: Mom Tells All About She Now Makes Over $4000/mo… HOT TOPICS: Trayvon Martin • John Goodman • Whitney Houston Home Video Blogs News Politics MORE MONEY: Business Traveler HOME Investigative Housing Market Health Foreclosures Entertainment Money Unemployment Rate Tech Economy News Search This Week Small Business 20/20 Good Morning America Nightline UnclaimedWorld MoneyNews Savings Tips Sto > MONEY Arizona Bill Would Let More Employers Nix Contraceptive Coverage "Strange Fruit Burns Fat" Study: Sheds 8.9 Pounds in Just 28 Days. Can It Work for You? Work-At-Home Jobs (EXPOSED) - Fountain Hills We investigated how she made $7500/month. What we found may SHOCK you Fountain Hills: Mom Makes $72/Hour Online We Investigated How She Makes $8,000/Month. You Won't Believe… Pharmacist owner Patrick McNerney, supports an Arizona bill allowing employers to prohibit coverage of contraceptive drugs from their health plans. (Patrick McNerney) WATCH MORNINGS ON ABC By SUSANNA KIM (@skimm) March 15, 2012 A state bill in Arizona would expand the right to deny contraception Recommend Confirm 76 health coverage for all employers who carry religious beliefs, not just churches. Patrick McNerney, owner of Ave Maria Pharmacy in Prescott Valley, Share Ariz., said he supports the bill because he does not sell contraception in Email his pharmacy. 95 Comments GMA 3/22: 'Hunger Games' Star Josh... McNerney's four employees are family members who are covered under Print Single Page Text Size WATCH THE FULL EPISODE -/+ his insurance plan. But he said if his business one day expanded and Robin Roberts Recommends provided insurance for its employees he would not want to be forced to pay for coverage for contraception because of his Catholic beliefs. He runs a "pro-life pharmacy" and the issue is not covering the cost of 'GMA Friday Freebies: Get $230 of Merchandise for Nothing! 'The Hunger Games' Movie Guide: 5 Things You Need to Know http://abcnews.go.com/Business/arizona-bill-religious-employers-exceptions-contraceptive-coverage/story?id=15922601[3/23/2012 2:07:48 PM] Arizona Bill Gives Religious Employers Exceptions for Contraceptive Coverage - ABC News contraceptives, the generic versions of which can cost $9 a month, he said. "I specifically opened this pharmacy so I could practice according to the morals of the Catholic Church that I live by," McNerney, 58, said. Enter Good Morning America's 'Marvel's The Avengers Premiere' Sweepstakes ABC News on Follow Arizona's House Bill 2625 was endorsed by the state's Senate Judiciary Committee this week after passing the House. The law could be approved by the State Senate and signed into law by Gov. Janice Brewer in the next month, said Deborah Sheasby, legal counsel for the Center for Arizona Policy, which supports the bill. The bill reforms a state contraception mandate that was ABC News on Facebook You like ABC News. · Admin Page · Insights · Error Like Sign Up passed in 2002, the Contraceptive Equity Law. That law required insurers to allow access to all FDA-approved drugs, including emergency contraceptive drugs. But that law provides exception to a "religious employer" that "primarily employs persons who share the religious Romney's Faith: Behind Mormonism Watch Video tenets of the entity" and "serves persons who share the religious tenets of the entity." One aspect of the bill that has attracted criticism but is Create an account or log in to see what your friends are doing. Minnesota Teen Can't Bring Porn Star to Prom 962 people recommend this. Whitney Houston Died From Drowning, Heart Disease, Cocaine Contributing factors 3,594 people recommend this. Facebook social plugin already in the 2002 law requires those employed by an employer prohibiting contraception coverage to submit a doctor's prescription if a contraceptive drug is required Macy's Fires Worker for Transgender Discrimination Watch Video Follow Us for medical purposes. Bryan Howard, president of Planned Parenthood Arizona, called that provision "extraordinary" that women with a religious employer could access birth control from a plan that otherwise doesn't cover it if they can attest they are not taking the contraception in order to have sex, Women Train to Do Men's Jobs Watch Video regardless of whether they are married or not. At issue is not whether one should or should not use contraception, Sheasby said. President Lowers Mortgage If you owe under $729k you probably qualify for the Govt Refi Program. www.MortgageRatesExperts.c "The bill is about the religious liberties of employers and paying for something against their religious beliefs," she said. Sheasby said the 2002 law's exemption was "so narrow" Need Investors? Angel Investors, Venture Capital, Largest Network, Contact Now. www.funded.com Business Finance Find Small Business Finance. Your Business Solution Business.com www.business.com Download Registry Cleaner Uniblue™ Official WebSite. Official Customer Support. Recommended 2012 www.uniblue.com/CustomerRecommended Consumer Reports Online Trust Our Expert Ratings! Subscribe Now for Unlimited Access. www.ConsumerReports.org that it only applied to churches or houses of worship, and forced faith-based social service groups and businesses to pay for or support services that were against their beliefs. Ron Johnson, executive director of the Arizona Catholic Conference, represents the five bishops in the state in the matter. The conference failed in its attempt to get the 2002 law vetoed after it was passed. He said under the current law, which provides an exemption to entities that hire and serve people of the same faith, "Jesus couldn't qualify because he helped anyone." http://abcnews.go.com/Business/arizona-bill-religious-employers-exceptions-contraceptive-coverage/story?id=15922601[3/23/2012 2:07:48 PM] Arizona Bill Gives Religious Employers Exceptions for Contraceptive Coverage - ABC News Howard disagrees that the issue is about religious freedom. "The idea that this has to do with religious freedom as opposed to women's health and healthcare is rather odd because if contraception is withheld on religious grounds of an employer, what he or she is doing is taking away the religious liberty of all his female employees who are no longer able to access healthcare according to their faith," he said. 1 | 2 MORE FROM ABC NEWS NJ Woman Sues Over Pregnancy Discrimination Man With Half an Arm Sues Starbucks NEXT PAGE FROM AROUND THE WEB The Most Hated Company on Earth Is Making Investors Rich (StreetAuthority) Palling Around With Obama's 'Radicals' Trump Warns: $6 Gas Coming Judge Backs Firing of Breastpumping Worker 4-Year-Old's Drawing Leads to Dad's Arrest (The Stir By CafeMom) (Moneynews) Romney's Faith: Behind Mormonism Don’t Pay Overdraft Fees: 4 Tips to Avoid Them (MyBankTracker.com) Macy's Fires Worker for Transgender Discrimination ATM charges 3 percent for cash More Video » (Bankrate.com) [What's This?] RELATED TOPICS: Contraception, Sexual Health, Catholicism, Healthcare Today, Pro-Life, Health Care, Planned Parenthood, Food And Drug Administration Follow @abc on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook Like Confirm 486k 486k 2.37% Mortgage Refinance $160,000 Mortgage for $622/Mo. Secure. No Hidden Fees. 3.1% APR eLendingSaver.com Top 5 Savings Accounts List of top rated savings banks for personal & business finance. RateCatcher.com/Top-Savings-Accts Local Coupons 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city's best! www.Groupon.com Recommend Confirm Email Print Share Comment & Contribute Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News. View All Comments (95) http://abcnews.go.com/Business/arizona-bill-religious-employers-exceptions-contraceptive-coverage/story?id=15922601[3/23/2012 2:07:48 PM] Arizona Bill Gives Religious Employers Exceptions for Contraceptive Coverage - ABC News America2929 If the employer is paying 100% of the employee's premium, and if the policy has no 10:37 AM EDT copays, deductibles, or coinsurance for the employee, THEN I would say it's ok for Mar 16, 2012 the employer to call the shots. If there is even one cent of employee contribution, then TOO BAD, SO SAD-- the employer shouldn't whine about "freedom". CND FOX PopeyeLN...don't you agree that the solution is (has to be) that we get the 9:07 AM EDT responsibility OUT of the hands of employers so that they can't pull this Mar 16, 2012 discriminatory crap of hiding behind first amendment rights? LOL...especially when the rotten ******** don;'t even pay taxes. "Single payer, national health care" is the only solution. Besides that is the ONLY WAY those that want to retire over the next 10-15 years...will be able to afford it. NOW...that is something that NOBODY in the 'free enterprise, entrepenuerial community' wants to talk about. When is the middle class ever going to wake up and see that they are being used and screwed by the wealthy? PopeyeLN Well it is mostly the Catholic Church that is offering up religious opposition to 8:08 AM EDT contraception. And until it gives to the State all its personnel files concerning child Mar 16, 2012 abusing priests, it should get no other consideration from the State. The Church after all has been nothing less than a continuing criminal enterprise in this regard. And doesn't this all "respect the establishment of religion" anyway? The free exercise of religion does not mean that a church's doctrines get visited upon the population via legislative action. If it was that, and given that, 98-99% of its American Catholics use contraception, I guess the State and the Bishops would be rounding up people to expose them to all kinds of hell on Earth, and purgatory after. View All Comments (95) Today in ABC News Boston Cat Survives 19-Story Fall ABC News Home » Kim Kardashian Gets Floured External links are provided for reference purposes. ABC News is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. Copyright © 2012 ABC News Internet Ventures. 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Emails & News Alerts Site Map Recipes ABC News Now Message Boards Site Index Behind the Scenes ABC.com RSS Headlines Authors List News Topics http://abcnews.go.com/Business/arizona-bill-religious-employers-exceptions-contraceptive-coverage/story?id=15922601[3/23/2012 2:07:48 PM] Arizona Bill Gives Religious Employers Exceptions for Contraceptive Coverage - ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/Business/arizona-bill-religious-employers-exceptions-contraceptive-coverage/story?id=15922601[3/23/2012 2:07:48 PM]