Olympia Snowe and the "Blunt amendment"

Maine's Republican senators, Olympia Snowe (left) and Susan Collins are members of Wish List, a dwindling group of female Republican politicians who are pro-choice, Harry Hamburg / AP Photo

Excerpts from a column today in The Daily Beast:

News outlets are busy canvassing Republican senators to see how they plan to vote Thursday on the Blunt amendment, which would allow employers to withhold insurance coverage for any health-care service that violates their “religious beliefs and moral convictions.” It would grant this exemption not only to religiously affiliated institutions but to all secular employers as well...

With less than 24 hours to go before the vote, only Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe had confirmed that she would vote against the measure. Her fellow Maine moderate, Sen. Susan Collins, remained undecided, at least for the record. A third female Republican senator, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, was also withholding her commitment, raising the prospect of a potential mini–women’s rebellion within the GOP over the controversial amendment.

Snowe’s surprise declaration that she would be stepping down from her seat after three terms because of the “atmosphere of polarization and ‘my way or the highway’ ideologies” served to crystallize the debate over the Blunt amendment. Her decision also underscores the political peril facing Republicans over the measure...

The Blunt amendment goes beyond religious institutions, allowing any employer that, for example, disapproves of smoking or drinking to potentially withhold treatment for those behaviors...

More at The Daily Beast.

Addendum:  The amendment did not pass the Senate.