Oral contraceptive pills seem like a basic right for all women. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2006-2008 10.7 percent of women were using the oral contraceptive pill, commonly referred to as birth control. The right to take birth control was a fight for those who wanted it. According to the Guttm acher Institute, birth control was legalized in 1965. It is a basic health right for women, and all women should have equal and fair access.
A big debate popping up in the news is whether employers should be required to cover their fe male employee's birth control. In my opinion, this should be a simple matter of a health debate and whether or not it should fall under the financial responsibility of the company to provide birth control for their female employees. Naturally, however, the debate has spun into a religious de bate between democrats and republicans.
President Obama has expressed that he believes birth control coverage should be included in the options of health insurance that employers provide to their employees. Birth control, as many other prescriptions, can be very expensive to fill on its own. Partial insurance coverage can have a substantial impact on a women's ability to access birth control.
An argument currently coming forward sur rounds the Catholic Church's belief about contra ception use. In general, Catholics do not believe in birth control. Some do not feel like they should be forced to provide contraception to their em ployees. Take the instance of a Roman Catho lic hospital, however. If a women who does not identify with the Catholic faith happens to gain employment at a hospital operated by a Ro man Catholic church, should she be allowed to get birth control through her employer's insurance?
Where do the GOP candidates stand on the issue?
With the campaign season in full swing, this topic affords an interesting viewpoint into some of the republican candidate's social ideology. Romney, Santorum and Gingrich all voiced their opinions at the Conservative Political Action Con ference.
Mitt Romney is a well-known Mormon, al though he has toned down his religious intensity in the 2012 election after it halted his progress in 2008. Romney has had inconsistent opinions when it comes to these issues. His latest goal is that he will allow religious freedom to reign again by overturning rulings that came through during the Obama administration.
Rick Santorum has been labeled as a "reli gious fanatic" and has called Obama's plan for contraception a "coercion," according to The Hill. In that article, Santorum said "We've seen the president of the United States not only tell you what insurance coverage you should have, how much you're going to pay, how much you're going to be fined if you don't, but now he's telling the Catholic Church that they are forced to pay for things that are against their basic tenets and teach ings, against their First Amendment right."
Newt Gingrich sounded the same argument that Romney and Santorum vocalized. He too feels like Obama is attacking and will continue to attack the Catholic Church. All three have grabbed onto this idea and are trying to wedge it into support for the GOP side.
I think it's crucial that women have access to birth control through their employers. Without the access to more affordable birth control, many women would not be able to afford it. The most natural use of birth control is to prevent preg nancy. However, it can also be use for medical reasons, such as helping women get on a more regular menstruation cycle, alleviating heavy bouts of bleeding and easing cramps among other problematic issues.
Our country pushes for freedom of many things, religion included. I fear that if an employer with holds the right to access birth control, it could be perceived as discrimination against an employee who follows a different religion. Even a stipula tion such as women can only receive birth control through their employer if they have a medical is sue would not be appropriate because those medi cal concerns are not appropriate to be required to be revealed to the employer.
Another big issue that arises when it comes to discussing religious issues such as this one is that not everyone has strict religious guidelines they follow. Most people assume that if someone iden tifies as Catholic, they would not use birth control. In reality, a lot of people identify with a particular religion without following each and every idea that religion lays out. To decide on behalf of a person what parts of their religion they should fol low would be to remove the individual's right to practice religion the way they wish to.
This debate channels into another common debate that comes out in religious medical fields. Another issue that arises in particular with Roman Catholic hospitals is the debate about the morn ing after pill. Some hospitals refuse to carry Plan B because they consider it abortion. This prohibits rape victims access to a pill that could prevent an unwanted pregnancy from their rapist.
When a victim is being trans ported after a rape, it is not practical to take the time to try and select a hospital that does not follow a religious ideology. The natural instinct is to take the victim to the closest hospital. To be a full service hospital that provides all access for women, Plan B should be carried in case a woman chooses to take it. A traumatizing situation such as that one is particularly not ap propriate for an organization to exert their religious viewpoints on a patient.
When religious institutions make sweeping generalizations in regards to what medications they will and will not provide, they could be affecting an indi vidual's health and well being in significant ways. We have separation of church and state for a reason. Access to religious insti tutions is a part of a freedom of religion in our country. Access to basic medical care is also a right in our country. If an individual does not identify with all parts of a religion, that does not mean they should be blocked from a medication. Those are two separate issues and should remain so.
