As always, you can reach out to less with social media. The addresses their for twitter cspanwj, then facebook. Com span, or email us a cspan. Org. More off the lead in Washington Post on the line to tell us more about the story is sarah cliff. Welcome to the program. Guest thank you for having me. Host why this optout . Guest the optout has been an area that has challenged the ministration for all but a week for over a year, trying to find a balance between Reproductive Health and also guaranteeing religious liberty. As to the wine now part they have promised since about a year ago, last february, they promised religious organizations and would come up with regulations that would find a middle ground. Reason were seeing it now is because i wanted to give companies a heads up about what the compromise would look like. Host what has been the response from supporters of the president . Guest supporters of the president are happy with it. It seems to guarantee widespread access to Birth Control, regardless of who your employer is. Host opponents of the president s plan and say what . Guest say it does not answer their problems, for two reasons. First, there is no optout for a private employer or a local businessman runs a business, has a deeply held moral objections to Birth Control, there is no way for that employer to opt out. The second reason, as you described, there will be stand alone at Birth Control implants, and some organizations such as catholic organizations and hospitals, they worry when they pray when they pay premiums to an insurer, money is moved around little bit, and they worried their money will ultimately pay for the Birth Control plan that they oppose. It is those two sticking points that are left. Host will this require are rewriting of the Affordable Care act, and if so, will it have to go through congress again . Guest it probably will not. There are a lot of legal challenges for this part of the law. Over 40 lawsuits have been filed. They are only challenging a small part of the Affordable Care act. The last time it went before the Supreme Court, it had potential to take on a whole thing. Were talking about a small provision. Host sarah kliff, you mentioned lawyers working on a lot. Might this have to be revisited in the Supreme Court . Host yes, that is a possibility, and now it is looking like a likelihood, now that there have been over 40 lawsuits filed. It has been put on hold until the regulation cannot because theyre waiting to see how the Obama Administration answers these questions. Think legal experts experts do expect that we will see this small part of it before the Supreme Court yet again. Host we have been talking with srah sarah kliff. The plan calls for Birth Control optout. You can read it in hard copy if you are in the washington d. C. Area. Or you can find it online at washingtonpost. Com. Thank you for being on, sarah. More from the article from sarah wrote that some religious groups criticized the rule for more than a year. They mounted a highprofile protest and filed dozens of lawsuits against the contraception mandate, are doing it is a violation of their religious freedom. The discussion for the first segment of the washington journal this morning, regarding the white house offer of all of an optout for contraceptives. Our first call comes from bob, on our line for democrats from new york city. Caller good morning. What you just read in the article, it makes the case why religious institutions ought not to be taxexempt and get all the tax breaks that they do. They are using their tax breaks to hire lawyers that are costing the taxpayers even more money to basically just have a normal secular society. This issue of Birth Control, the rest of the world is laughing at us that we are even controverting over it. It should not even be an issue on the table. Again, the taxexempt status for religious institutions, i do not know if there are organizations that are trying to repeal this taxexempt status, but i never really heard of a program on c span about it, but these organizations, these religious institutions it is the tax breaks they get. Host nick from fairview, tennessee. On the independent line. Caller this is a ploy. Socialists like the kennedys and obama, they will vilify if they cannot get it right, kruschev said, we will take two steps forward, and one step backward. We no longer live under a constitutional republic. Liberals claim that it is a religious group that is against them. The state has become the major religion in this country. The icons in washington they have to destroy every aspect of people who hold to a higher moral authority. Host the headline in this morning the wall street journal castle in michigan, on our lands for democrats. Ethel in michigan, on our line for democrats. Caller my question is, what happened between the separation between church and state . I believe this is more of a legal issue than a religious issue. The religious issue is for the contraceptive. I can understand that. Why is this being mixed in with state issues . He did not have to take them if you do not want them, if you do not believe in them. Dont use them. I just cannot understand why this does not go away. I am really quite tired of it all. Thank you. Host more from the article in this mornings the wall street journal. They write the new rules would require insurers to pay the upfront cost. Our next call comes from carol in ohio, on our line for democrats. Caller good morning. I am totally against what the Catholic Church and republicans are doing about Birth Control for women. This is an attack on womens right to choose. I had the right to choose in the 1960s and wanted two children, five years apart, because i was thinking about college. I think everybody ought to be able to make that decision what they are doing to womens rights make that decision. What they are trying to do to womens rights kinney to have a separation between church and state. The rights of women in the United States, have a right to Birth Control gigawatt it. Whose rights are going to be if they want it. Whose rights are going to be trampled on by the republicans on this one . Cannot like it at all. Host amanda from miami, florida. Caller art medical records supposed to be part of it . What kind of services with a note that are taken care would they know are taken care of . You work for a jehovahs witness and they do not believe in a blood transfusion, does that mean that they would not have to cover that . It does not make sense. Host more from the newspapers. This is the lead in the New York Times a right that the proposal could expand the groups that do not need to pay directly for Birth Control, encompassing not only churches and other religious organizations, but also some religiously affiliated hospitals, universities, and social Services Social service agencies. Back to the phones. Doug from alabama on our republican line. Caller i am pretty much a conservative, however, being a catholic taxpayer, why should i have to pay, if i own a business, why should i have to pay for somebodys Birth Control . That is an individual responsibility. It is not something any company should have to bear or any type of afterpregnancy enhancement to keep pregnancy going. That is an individual responsibility. Furthermore, the problem with healthcare they are telling me, your insurance does not have to pay that, but if somebody wants a different insurance policy, then the insurer has to pay for that. What is the difference . There is no difference. Thank you. Host our next call, rafah in michigan. Youre on the washington journal. Caller i was wondering why it was that seized and played the clip on the righttolife Movement Last week, but they called it the antiabortion movement. The question i really have is if koreshan is a natural abortion is natural and acceptable, why is it never shown on tv . They have so many operations that they have. If it is so natural and people find it acceptable, why do not ever see it on tv . Is there a problem with it . How old does a child have to be before it can be killed . Do we do it like a duke in netherlands, up to two years old . Host we will leave it right there. We want to show you some of the White House Briefing on friday where press secretary jay carney talked to the media about some of the positions the white house was proposing. The criteria he made clear that were important to him we need to provide preventive services, access to preventative services, for all women, including contraception, and we also needed to respect religious beliefs. That is the balance the president made clear he wanted to be kept in mind as these rules were developed. Host were talking about the white house offering of contraception optout. Our next call comes South Carolina, on our line for independents. Caller good morning. I think the biggest thing that is starting to trouble me i stopped pretend in the Catholic Church attending the Catholic Church last year when all this came out and the priest was talking about it, the thing that gets to me is, there is all this talk about people that want to focus on families, but we cannot keep our children safe in their schools, but people that may be questioning about what to even have children if we do not even know if they will be kept safe, the Biggest Issue that troubles me why is there all this concern about women and how we are taking care of our bodies when once we have children, how are we keeping them say it . I am troubled by all this. My chance a thank you for my chance to say this. Host we got a statement from the Catholic Association. It reads in part your thoughts about the statement from the Catholic Association . Caller think if they were realistic, they would understand even though it may be frowned upon in the way that it is talked about, there are many catholics that use Birth Control. The Family Planning method is not being used as widely as it was years ago. They are completely out of touch with people that attend, the people that come to church, because they are having totally different conversations going on. Does not mean that we do not like going to church. There are two completely different messages being sent. Women are not being respected. Host we will move on to linda from michigan, on our line for independents. Your thoughts about the white house offering a contraceptive optout. Caller honestly, i do not think there should be an optout. If religious organizations want to keep their taxexempt status, they should follow the law. You can add on the one hand and scream about abortion, and then fight Birth Control in the same breath. They are not paying for these children that would force into the world. I do not think they should have any say over what women do with their own bodies. Host in the Baltimore Sun and this morning the Baltimore Sun this morning they have a chart dennis in colombia, missouri, on our line for republicans. Caller good morning. I have a question that i need to ask you regarding the cost of the contraceptive coverage. How exactly does that work . Is everyone that is in the plants paying pour contraceptive coverage, whether they need it or not . Host that is something i cannot answer specifically, but i am sure there is plenty of it either in the newspapers this morning or at the white house website. I would suggest you check those out. Caller i am not referring to the proposal coming from the white house. I am more curious as to how the original law was written. My opinion would be that i do not feel that i as a man should have to pay for contraceptive coverage that i am never going to use. I guess youre right. I will have to go back and take a look at the original proposal to see how that was written. Guess i would say i do not think that is fair. Thank you. Host we have a couple of tweets we want to take a look at. cspanwj is where you can send your tweets. This one also, this one also, this one back to the phones. Cedric in gainesville, florida, on our line for democrats. Your Ron Washington journal. Caller i was calling to get my point of view. People always think we are against everything to do not like. People cannot compel do not give a fair hearing. People should not a lot and have sex. You do not like something, do not given to it. You will not have been given to sex. All you have to do is to be the person you are. Stop complaining about somebody try to help. Host robert in tennessee, on our line for republicans. Caller i have heard a lot of comments on the separation of church and state. There needs to be clarification that that goes both ways. Not only do we need to separate the church from the state, but we also need to make sure that we keep the state out of the church. These religious organizations that do not want to be a part of that, is part of the faith. As a catholic, i have to reiterate that Birth Control is considered for us as on the same level as an abortion. When youre asking somebody to participate in that, youre violating the religious freedoms. Whether or not it is the same to make laws or whatever, you cannot be making laws that interfere with peoples religious beliefs or practices. Host part of the conversation on facebook the conversation continues on facebook. Com cspan. Back to the phones, dennis in schaumburg, illinois, on our line for independents. Caller good morning. I am a firsttime caller. I watch you all the time. I am a pretty active environmentalist. One of my concerns is that we tend to take the quality of life away from our planet in order to highlight the emphasis on our lives. My concern is that i think we missed the Bigger Picture when it comes to the prolife issue. Im going to give a quote i am prolifer for mother earth. Please do not abort her. Host lets move on to beverly from chicago. Caller i am kind of tired about all of the separation between church and state business. No, they do not pay taxes. If they want to get into the debate, taxes like everybody else. All this moral authority that people keep throwing around mind your business. If you do not want to take Birth Control pills, dont take them. If you do not want the bothered with the morning after, dont do it. But we really do not have a right to tell somebody else what to do with their own bodies. These states want to cut funds to medicaid, which takes care of poor children, sick children, and yet the Catholic Church im not catholic those of us who are not catholic, catholics do not take it. The rest of us, we take it. I pay for the Oil Companies to get all kinds of rebates and all of this business. I do not want to do that. It is part of my obligation as a citizen of this country. Host this is one of the editorials this morning in the New York Times back to the phones. Rosella in new york, on our line for republicans. You are on the washington journal. Caller good morning. I have been watching this debate is quite controversial, obviously, regarding coverage for contraception contraception. Over the years, i have listened to this. In fact, i have listened to it long before it became a hot topic, listening to and talk in different organizations. Host what you think about the optout offer . Caller i think it is a good idea. My two points id not think religious organizations, churches, should have any business in this topic as a group, because they have a vested interest in women producing more babies. First of all, most of them, the Catholic Church included, and they are probably one of the best examples they like the women producing more babies because then they have more opportunity to run the adoption business. There is a fee for each baby, or else there always was, and then they adopt out. It is sort of like our voting system. The more babies they produce, the more votes just to make it short, they have a vested interest in producing more babies, babies that are unwanted. Host we will move to do in tennessee, on our line for independents. Caller i am a catholic in my 80s now. I remember back i have always been against abortion. What got me was when i found out my church allowed abortion right up until 1869. Then there would be no abortion at all when they found out about conception. They didnt know about conception until 1820. It took them until 1869. For the last 200 years, they actually allowed abortion right up to the time of ensoulment. You could have an abortion right up until that time. Here they are now, using this to try to make them look good. Im really angry at them. Host some other stories in the news. This is from the boston globe you can read more about that in this mornings the boston globe. Back to our phones and our discussion regarding the white house offering a contraceptive optout. Carroll is calling from georgia on our line for democrats. Youre on the washington journal. Caller but me tell you this it is ironic that everybody who wants to get the churches, they want the right to opt out, and every time there is a situation that comes out, the Catholic Church always has a voice in everything. What they like, and what they do not like. The thing is, everything president obama has done has been a compromise for them. They did state funding. How can you ask for the government to give you money, but then when they wanted to comply, you have a problem with it .