Here's What We're Reading...(Birth Control Roundup) -- February 2
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Happy Groundhog Day! We really can’t believe how quickly January flew by and so far, February is just as busy. Catching up on the news from the last couple of days….it seems that despite Mitt Romney’s victory in Florida, he can still see Newt’s shadow, so we’re faced with the prospect of six more weeks of debate as the candidates head to Nevada for Saturday’s caucuses (Maine’s start that day, as well). Meanwhile, women won in Oregon with the decisive victory of Susan Bonamici in the 1st district’s special election.
Today, we thought we’d do something a bit different from our morning reads, and do a roundup on the numerous articles surrounding the president’s decision to protect birth control access for women who work at religiously affiliated universities or hospitals. Just yesterday we posted a piece on the truth about birth control, and we thought this would be a nice addendum. So here’s what we’re reading about birth control…While tremendous coverage has been generated around the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s unfortunate ending of its relationship with Planned Parenthood health centers, refusal is picking up steam.
Women deserve freedom in their private lives says the Charleston Gazette’s in their latest editorial. “Birth control: Now a human right” – “In January, the president announced a compromise: Conservative churches may refuse to cover birth control for their own employees -- but not for workers at church-owned schools, hospitals, charities and other organizations. Catholic bishops protested that their religious freedom is being trampled….We think the White House acted wisely. Many employees of Catholic institutions are not Catholic, and they deserve the same rights as other Americans. Women are entitled to freedom in their private lives.”
Time to abide by the rules, says Mother Jones: “If You Take Taxpayer Money, You Have to Follow Taxpayer Rules” – “I can understand compromising over a very limited number of hot button issues. Abortion is the obvious one. But in general, if Catholic hospitals don't want to follow reasonable, 21st century secular rules, they need to make themselves into truly religious enterprises. In particular, they need to stop taking secular taxpayer money. As long as they do, though, they should follow the same rules as anyone else.”
Birth control should be available—because it’s common sense. Jane Ahlin writes in the MinnPost: “The high value Americans place on birth control is shown by how many use it” – “Anyone questioning how much women and their families value birth control need only look at statistics from a 2011 Guttmacher Institute report ’based on a nationally representative U.S. government survey’ showing that 99 per cent of sexually active American women use birth control during their reproductive years. (For American Catholic women the figure is 98 per cent.) “
