Following the anger and aggression from the religious conservative concerning birth control, Obama has recently made a compromise allowing the health insurance provider, rather than the religious institutions to provide contraceptive coverage. The revise exempts all religious institutions, including hospitals and universities, from covering its employees’ contraceptive coverage.
The revision of the original contraceptive coverage plan was that all employers (who offer health insurance) were to provide its employees with contraceptive coverage.
However, religious conservatives, particularly Catholics objected this and claimed it was a violation of their beliefs.
I have mixed feelings about this.
Part of the beauty of the United States is that every man and woman has the freedom to believe in whatever religion they choose without persecution.
However, on that same note, one religious organization shouldn’t hold a dominance over everyone else. Then again, how far should a religious group be pushed by the state against what they believe in their church?
The Washington Post posted a graph of women categorized by Catholic and Protestant who used birth control. If you look at the graph, you can hardly see any discrepancies between the two. Seventy-five percent of Catholic women use at least some sort of external contraceptive (i.e. birth control pills, condoms or sterilization).
Sounds like the majority of Catholics aren’t really that strongly against contraceptive use.
Disregarding the very obvious negative ramifications refusing contraceptive coverage, I can’t help but wonder what message we’re sending to a younger generation of religious groups. We teach them in schools to practice safe-sex, to be careful and not to get pregnant.
Yet, at the same time they are hearing that by using the means to stay protected is a violation of their religion. The fact is, people are going to have sex- it’s time we stop trying to bash their head into “abstinence only” and provide them with means of protecting themselves.
A certain part of me has to admire the Catholic Church though. Anyone willing to stand up for something they believe so much deserves a sort of respect.
What I can’t help but think is this: for the 25 percent of Catholic women who don’t use birth control your place of employment isn’t forcing you to obtain it. Just because the offer is there doesn’t mean they have to take it and they wouldn’t have to feel there are violating their religious morals. However, maybe we should leave that option for the 75 percent who do?
