President Obama’s compromise plan for mandatory coverage of contraceptives does not solve religious liberty concerns for the Southern Baptist Convention’s insurance provider, GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins said in a statement Feb. 10.
GuideStone’s medical plan is self-funded, Hawkins said, meaning that it pays its benefits directly instead of using a third-party insurance company. He said the president’s solution of requiring insurance companies to pay directly for reproductive services of employees of religious organizations that oppose contraception “completely ignored” the self-funded approach.
While Southern Baptists are not on record as being against birth control pills or sterilization, a GuideStone press release described the issue at hand as opposition to “so-called contraceptives that can and do cause an abortion.”
“The president’s statement today is an insulting affront illustrating a basic lack of understanding that this issue will not be solved by sleight-of-hand word games,” said Hawkins. “It is a fundamental matter of religious liberty that threatens the very coverage of those dedicated persons who serve our churches and affiliated organizations.”
Hawkins said that GuideStone “will never depart from the core convictions it has held dear for decades regarding the sanctity of life.”