Obama tweaks disputed birth control policy

Washington: US President Barack Obama, under fierce election-year fire, on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organisations must pay for birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furore raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes. He demanded that insurance companies step in to provide the coverage instead.

Obama's compromise means ultimately that women would still get birth control without having to pay for it, no matter where they work. The president insisted he had stuck by that driving principle even in switching his approach, and the White House vehemently rejected any characterisation that Obama had retreated under pressure. Yet there was no doubt that Obama had found himself in an untenable position.

The controversy over contraception and religious liberty was overshadowing his agenda, threatening to alienate key voters and giving ammunition to the Republicans. It was a mess that knocked the White House off its message and vision for a second term.

Reserving judgment

Leaders from opposite sides of the divisive debate said they supported the outcome — or at least suggested they probably could live with it. Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York, the head of the US Roman Catholic bishops and a fierce critic of the original rule covering hospitals and other employers, said the bishops were reserving judgment, but Obama's move was a good first step.

The bishops' organisation later issued a far more sceptical critique contending that the new approach offered insufficient protections for religious employers and calling that unacceptable. Republicans hoping to oust Obama from the White House were conceding nothing. Newt Gingrich said: "I frankly don't care what deal he tries to cut... If he wins re-election, he will wage war on the Catholic Church the morning after he's re-elected."