Another possible assault on Freedom of Conscience? The Wall Street Journal reports:

By KATHERINE HOBSON

A new report recommends that health-insurance plans offer women all forms of approved contraception without charging out-of-pocket fees.

The report was released Tuesday by the Institute of Medicine, which advises the U.S. government on health issues. It was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to identify gaps in the department’s list of preventive health services already covered for women.

It recommends that insurers cover “the full range” of contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration as well as sterilization and patient counseling as a way to prevent unintended pregnancies and to help women space their pregnancies over time. There is an increased risk of adverse outcomes for pregnancies that occur within 18 months of a prior pregnancy, the report said.

“As we looked at the evidence on preventing unintended pregnancies and promoting healthy birth spacing, the evidence was pretty clear,” said Paula Johnson, a member of the IOM committee and head of the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Both counseling and providing contraception are very important.”

Continue reading…  Note: The article is probably behind a subscribers only fire wall. You can also read about it here. H/T Catholic Vote.

It seems that we will be free to worship, but we will not be as free to practice our religion. But we are called to live our faith in the world. That might mean that Catholic institutions, and Catholic business owners, may have to refuse health care coverage to their workers even if it means incurring a fine.