MSNBC "Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript

Interview

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Joining us now is Congresswoman Diana DeGette of Colorado. She`s co-chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus.

Congressman DeGette, thanks very much for joining us. It`s nice to have you here.

REP. DIANA DEGETTE (D), COLORADO: It`s good to be back, Rachel.

MADDOW: Why do you think this provision in the health reform act is important, this provision relating to birth control? And are you very worried that it might really be at risk?

DEGETTE: Well, in August what happened was the administration said that part of the required coverage of insurance companies under the Affordable Health Care Act is birth control. And that makes sense because
that`s preventative care. We`re trying to shift the health care system to preventative care.

And now, the final regulation is about to be adopted. And there`s been a hard push by religious institutions to say that Catholic hospitals, Catholic universities, other institutions should be able to refuse to cover
birth control for their employees, for students at Catholic universities and so on. And we think that`s a terrible mistake because we think that the people who have the conscience clause who can make their decisions about whether they want birth control are the women themselves and they should be exercising this.

This would affect millions of Americans. And so, we just want to make sure we`re concerned, the Pro-Choice Caucus, is concerned that the Affordable Health Care Act continue to cover birth control just like it
does any other preventative care.

MADDOW: To be clear, right now, there is an existing exemption from this, which as I understand it is pretty narrowly targeted to religious institutions that are -- that is to say, churches. And what is being
considered, at least what religious groups, what Catholic bishops in particular are pushing for is that that exemption apply to all institutions remotely affiliated with the Catholic Church, which as you know, would
affect millions of people largely through institutions like Catholic hospitals, Catholic charities, and Catholic hospitals -- and Catholic universities.

Is that -- is that a fair assessment?

DEGETTE: That`s right. Many states right now under state law say that you have to cover -- insurance companies have to pay for birth control. And they have a very narrow exception for actual churches. So,
the theory is if someone goes to work at a church, they are likely to share the same precepts. But -- so that right now is in the draft regulation from HHS.

What we`re concerned about is if you expand that to Catholic universities and to hospitals, number one, you`re covering a whole lot of people who may not share those same -- those same religious objections.
And number two, even most Catholics these days use birth control, just like the rest of the population, and an overwhelming amount of Americans, including Catholics, support mandatory coverage for birth control in
insurance plans.

MADDOW: When we spoke with the White House today, Congresswoman, they did really seem to be trying to calm things down here. I think it`s fair to characterize their reaction to this as, you know, listen, people may be upset but there`s nothing to be upset about, we haven`t done anything. There is a -- there are a lot of worries, though, and there are a lot of people who are concerned about this.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, in particular, has been raising the prospect that this rule could be changed.

Do you -- from what you know of the White House and from what you know of them in working with them on this particular issue, is it possible that this is a misunderstanding and the White House is really not inclined to change this rule at all? Or do you think there is concern among women`s health advocates on something like this because they are concerned more broadly that they don`t know that the White House has a commitment to standing up for women`s rights on an issue like this?

DEGETTE: Well, look, I was the co-chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus when we passed the Affordable Health Care Act, and we saw what the bishops are willing to do with the Stupak Amendment that would restrict a woman`s right to choose and other things. And we think it`s much better to get this out in the open right now to raise the issues, to let the White House know as they promulgate this final regulation that the vast number of pro-choice members -- well, all of the pro-choice members of Congress and the vast number of Americans support this kind of coverage under their insurance plan.

We`d rather -- we`d rather bring this out now because the concerns have been -- have been voiced than after a rule is promulgated. It`s easier to do it now than after the horse has left the barn.

MADDOW: Congresswoman Diana DeGette of Colorado -- thanks very much for joining us tonight. It`s nice to have you here, ma`am.

DEGETTE: Good to be with you, Rachel. Thanks.

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