Liberal Christians Protest Hobby Lobby Lawsuit Over Contraception Coverage Mandate
A group of liberal Christian activists are protesting Hobby Lobby's decision to sue the Obama administration over its contraception coverage mandate in the health law.
The Associated Press/Washington Post: Liberal Oklahoma Pastors Protest Hobby Lobby Suit Challenging Coverage Of Morning-After Pill
Christian activists attempted Thursday to deliver a petition to Hobby Lobby criticizing its challenge to a portion of the new federal health care law, but guards at the company's headquarters turned them away. … Schmitz said more than 80,000 people had signed copies of a petition circulated nationwide by Faithful America, an online Christian group, and UltraViolet, which promotes women's rights. Schmitz said he intends to mail the petition to the company. Lawyers representing Hobby Lobby this month sued the federal government claiming it should not be forced to provide workers with health insurance that covers the morning-after and week-after pills (9/27).
Elsewhere, fallout from Texas' budget cuts for family funding services has forced several clinics to close --
Houston Chronicle: Family Planning Clinics Hard Hit By Budget Cuts
About 15 percent of Houston-area clinics that received state funding for family planning services closed their doors because of budget cuts last fiscal year, and another 30 percent have reduced service hours, according to a study published this week. Following a political firestorm in the 2011 legislative session, state family planning funds were cut from $111.5 million to $37.9 million for the biennium, cutting services to as many as 180,000 women in Texas a year, according to state health department officials. The number of clinics funded by the Texas Department of State Health Services has dropped from 300 to 136 since the Legislature slashed funding, state officials said (Radcliffe, 9/27).
