Should Catholic and Other Religious Institutions Have to Cover Birth Control? >
Like Komen, Politicians Attack Birth Control at Their Own Risk
Nothing about this new rule will affect a person's ability to practice his or her religion
February 9, 2012
About Nancy Keenan:
Nancy Keenan is president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. Prior to becoming president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, she served as a Montana state legislator and state superintendent of public instruction.
President Obama's decision to ensure that insurance plans cover birth control without a co-pay is one of the greatest advancements in women's access to contraception in a generation.
Ninety-nine percent of American women—including 98 percent of Catholic women—use contraception at some point in their lives, yet 1 in 3 struggles with its high cost.
[Rick Newman: Obama's Common-Sense Deficit.]
President Obama was right to make birth-control coverage available to women without a co-pay, which will help millions of women prevent unintended pregnancy and thereby reduce the need for abortion.
As a result of the president's decision, millions of women, including nurses, janitorial staff, and college instructors, will get coverage of contraception—and they will not have to ask their bosses for permission.
Sadly, anti-contraception politicians in Washington, D.C., and certain groups opposed to birth control want Congress to override President Obama's decision—even though the new rule specifically exempts churches and other houses of worship.
[New Culture War Will Help Rick Santorum, Barack Obama.]
These politicians and groups are out of touch with our nation's values and priorities—and that's why NARAL Pro-Choice America will fight to make sure Congress doesn't take away birth-control coverage for women.
Let me be clear: Nothing about this new rule will affect a person's ability to practice his or her religion. Individuals will still be able to practice their religious beliefs without government interference.
Women of all religious backgrounds need to be able to make the healthcare decisions that are best for them and their families. Remember, doctors often prescribe contraception for health reasons other than preventing pregnancy. Without the Obama administration's policy, a woman could be forced to ask permission to get her birth control covered, requiring her to share confidential medical information with her boss.
[Majority of Catholics Believe Employers Should Cover Birth Control.]
The American people understand what's at issue here. That's why, according to a poll released by the Public Religion Research Institute this week, 55 percent of Americans agree that "employers should be required to provide their employees with health-care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost."
The same poll shows that shows that 58 percent of Catholics believe that employers should be required to provide their employees with healthcare plans that cover contraception.
As I travel throughout the country, the people I speak with are amazed that contraception could be under attack in the year 2012.
And yet, right now, Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, is pushing legislation that could take away birth-control coverage from millions of women.
[Mitt Romney and the GOP’s War on Birth Control.]
These attacks are part of the broader War on Women's Health that's been going on all year. But the American people are standing up and saying, "Enough!"
Last week, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity learned what happens when you interfere with women's ability to access basic healthcare.
Given that 99 percent of American women use birth control at some point in their lives, politicians who attack it do so at their own risk.
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- Obamacare Birth Control Mandate Tramples Religious Liberty.
- Other Arguments
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#113995
No — The First Amendment exists to shield believers and their institutions from exactly this kind of brute force
HANNAH SMITH, Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
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#212183
No — The uproar over Obama's choice has to do with more than contraception
JEANNE MONAHAN, Director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council
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#3154126
Yes — Family planning is the most effective tool we have in reducing unintended pregnancy and abortion
JESSICA ARONS, Director of the Women's Health and Rights Program at Center for American Progress
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#410481
No — The infiltration of the secular state into the faiths of millions of taxpayers is scary
ANDREA S. LAFFERTY, President of Traditional Values Coalition
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#510588
No — Obama is dependent upon continued feminist support for his re-election
JANICE SHAW CROUSE, Senior Fellow of Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute
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#59881
No — The government's assault on religious faith and practice is broad and deep
PATRICK VAUGHN, General Counsel at American Family Association
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#7119115
Yes — Religiously owned or affiliated organizations ought to play by the same rules as other employers
KATHERINE FRANKE, ELIZABETH SEPPER, Scholars at Columbia Law School
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#89399
Yes — No one is telling the Catholic Church that it cannot hold its views on contraception
ROGER N. LANCASTER, Director of Cultural Studies at George Mason University
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#108494
Yes — Contraception is a key component of basic healthcare for women of all faiths
LOUISE MELLING, Deputy Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union
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#118398
Yes — Birth control is not just a convenience but is medically necessary
JOAN HOFF, Research Professor of History at Montana State University
