Mahalo, Stellar~

No one should have the right to dictate to another based on the first persons religious beliefs. I'm non religious and I do not want a religious person telling me or in having anything to do with the way I live my life based on how they believe. If they don't believe in something then don't do it but don't push that belief off on me as I chose to not believe that way. My choice, my right as a citizen of this country.
This is why we have separation of church and state in our constitution.
I'm not gay so I don't need gay marriage. I don't need an abortion as I'm not in need of one but I don't want to keep someone else from having either if they so chose and on and on. These are some of the issues that drove me away from religion. I will die a proud heathen.
I respect another's choice concerning religion and I expect them to respect mine. I will not try to push my beliefs off on another person as that is wrong whether it be me pushing mine off on them or them pushing theirs off on me. Agree to disagree and leave it at that.
When I die it will be no different than the bug that hit my windshield earlier last evening, I simply will be dead, no longer exist.
I want my dead body cremated and whoever do with my ashes as they may. I'd like to think they'd honor my wish and put them in a hole in the ground and plant a tree upon them but at that point it won't matter to me what they do. No praying allowed. I'll have none of that. In life I have found that religion has caused directly and indirectly more strife than any one other thing.

No one has ever been trying to force these companies to provide birth control to their employees, over their religious objections. Their whole meme is FALSE.

They were required to provide insurance. Insurance is not birth control.
No religion that I know of has laws or directives against insurance.

Instead, while claiming that their religious values were being compromised, they have been trying to impose their religious values upon their employees, and to control them-- in fact, thus violating their employees First Amendment rights regarding freedom of religion, as well as their freedom of choice.

It is the employee's decision, whether to actually make use of the insurance thus provided for birth control, if that is compatible with their own religious beliefs--- NOT whether it is compatible with the religious beliefs of their employer. (Opening that door, it is not a great leap to imagine your employer telling you where you may worship, or just telling you to go to church if you don't-- perhaps they'll start to think that THIS is part of their "religious freedom" as well!)

Theologically speaking, "God" does not hold the employer responsible for the decisions of the employee. It is ridiculous for any employer to be making the argument that they would be spiritually "found wanting" because the insurance plan covering their employees had a provision in it which would cover birth control, only if the employee chose to exercise it-- the actual choice whether to use it or not remains the employee's responsibility.

For those reasons, I think any "for-profit" companies should just have been TOLD, that they were going to provide this insurance, whether they liked it or not. The Obama administration has been way too accommodating on this--- particularly when we find out that Hobby Lobby has numerous investments in companies who provide abortion and contraceptive-related products Link , and their religious "conscience" objections apparently only stretch far enough to try to dictate behavior to their employees-- but NOT to their own investment behavior.

(Yeah, it looks like the 'Hobby Lobby' decision that seems to have made this action necessary may have gone under my radar when it came out, but it seems to have been WRONG.)

"can write a letter."

I read through the whole link, including the comments. What happens if the company doesn't bother to write the letter? Can they just ignore any employee who wants the letter written, so that their birth control is still not covered?

If they don't write the letter, then they must provide the coverage the normal way, in their own plan. Writing the letter gives them an out to that.

That's how I remember it from previous reading on the issue.

that's how I understood it too.

They could give the letter for HHS to the employee and keep a copy for their record that notes their objection. Kind of like they do direct deposits. The bank completes the form and the employee mail/takes it in to be processed.

Because you know the insurance companies will find some sort of 'balance' in this approach.

Did Obama convince the insurance companies (all of them?) to provide coverage for free? If so, that is an amazing feat.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

Because this is about removing women's agency.
To deny their independence and autonomy.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

They challenge the notion that they should even have to do anything in order to not be held to the contraception mandate:

http://www.nwlc.org/status-lawsuits-challenging-affordable-care-acts-birth-control-coverage-benefit

I meant for this particular rule, but my comment applies to pretty much all women/GOP related issues....

you can't have any blood transfusions paid for by your health insurance. I'm waiting for the SCOTUS white wingers to rule that your boss can control what you buy with your wages on Amazon.com. "Your employer has blocked your porn purchase based on a stock holders religion!"

"God wants......."

Throughout the millenia, every sentence starting with those two words has also echoed the point of view of the person saying it.

Sorry. Your friends and family need those insurance jobs.