Catholic Diocese of Cleveland reacts to President Obama's revamped contraceptive care policy

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Diocese reacted to President Obama’s decision to revamp his contraceptive coverage policy.

Facing increasing pressure from religious organizations, President Obama announced Friday a revamped policy for contraceptive coverage.

“Under the rule women will still have access to free preventive care, no matter where they work,” said the president.

The original rule that drew criticism from the Catholic church and other religious groups would have required employers to provide health insurance that includes contraception. The policy would have also applied to religious charities and hospitals who are morally opposed to it.

Under the new policy, it will be insurance companies who provide that coverage. They will reach out to women employees who work for religious organizations and provide contraception coverage free of charge. Employers will not have to pay for or play a direct role in medical care they are opposed to.

Spokesperson for the Cleveland Catholic Diocese, Robert Tayek, said the president's decision is a direct response to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC.

“This appears to be a step in the right direction but more study is needed on the particular issues of conscience, as well as freedom of religion or religious liberty,” he explained.

The issue also drew response from local women like Amy Mitchell.

“I think his previous decision a couple days ago was violating the question of church and state i think this is a move in the right direction,” Mitchell said.

Meanwhile, Christine Ogden said she believes the president learned a valuable lesson.

“He found out that you can't force religious institutions to go against their beliefs that's what the institutions founded on seems like a pretty impossible situation to me,“ she said.