Published: Monday, February 6, 2012
Health-care law
Birth control aspect necessary
The Obama administration recently ruled that health insurance plans must include contraception among the preventive services available to women without deductibles or co-pays under the new health-care law. This decision does not force any doctor to prescribe contraception, or any woman to use it. Instead, it makes contraception affordable for many women who otherwise would not be able to afford it. As a nurse for more than 30 years, I know that is a great step forward in the health of all women.
Despite the fact that 98 percent of Catholic women use contraception, some in the religious community are demanding that the current exemption for churches and religious organizations be expanded to include colleges, hospitals and social service agencies. This would be a disastrous decision for women's health.
This issue goes to the heart of the personal health decisions a woman makes with her doctor and care team, not her employer. As a Catholic, my grandmother died giving birth to her eighth child in so many years, and my mother had 10 pregnancies within less than 12 years. With birth control, their pregnancies could have been spaced so as to minimize the extreme physical, emotional, financial and psychological toll placed upon our family.
As a nurse, I know the decision not to expand the exception was the right one -- as a matter of public health, respect for individual conscience and simple fairness to Washington women and their families. This politicizing from the pulpit, however, is one of the reasons why I struggle with my Catholic faith.
Mary McNaughton, RN, BSN
Everett
Despite the fact that 98 percent of Catholic women use contraception, some in the religious community are demanding that the current exemption for churches and religious organizations be expanded to include colleges, hospitals and social service agencies. This would be a disastrous decision for women's health.
This issue goes to the heart of the personal health decisions a woman makes with her doctor and care team, not her employer. As a Catholic, my grandmother died giving birth to her eighth child in so many years, and my mother had 10 pregnancies within less than 12 years. With birth control, their pregnancies could have been spaced so as to minimize the extreme physical, emotional, financial and psychological toll placed upon our family.
As a nurse, I know the decision not to expand the exception was the right one -- as a matter of public health, respect for individual conscience and simple fairness to Washington women and their families. This politicizing from the pulpit, however, is one of the reasons why I struggle with my Catholic faith.
Mary McNaughton, RN, BSN
Everett
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