The battle over birth control coverage continues. Over 500 people attended a protest in Chicago about the federal requirement that employer sponsored health plans must cover birth control. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the crowd of protesters were Catholic.
There are two sides to this ongoing battle. On one side, is the federal government, who want women to be able to have access to birth control. The government recognizes that birth control is an important part of preventative care for women. As such, the requirement says that all employer sponsored health insurance plans must include coverage for contraception, without cost to the policyholder – in the same way that individual health insurance plans are required to.
On the other side, is the Roman Catholic Church. The leaders of this religion feel that the use of birth control goes against their religious beliefs. They do not recognize birth control as health care. They feel that the requirement that employer sponsored health plans must include coverage for birth control violates the employer’s religious freedom.
The Catholic Church has put up a big fight, insisting that Catholic hospitals, universities, and businesses be exempt from this requirement. The federal government allows churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship to be exempt, but not religious businesses. Several lawsuits have been filed by Catholic groups who want to fight against this requirement. Experts are saying that none of these cases actually have any legal merit.
On June 8, 2012, about 500 people attended a protest in Chicago to express that they were against the birth control mandate. People carried crucifixes, a symbol used by the Catholic religion as well as many Christian religions. Others carried pictures of saints, or carried rosaries, which are symbols that are only used in the Catholic religion.
According to Reuters:
“Rally participants in Chicago held yellow-and-white papal flags and signs with slogans such as “Keep Your Mandate Off My Rosary”. Also attending were Catholic priests and nuns”.
It is worth noting that Catholic priests are not allowed to marry or date, and therefore, would never personally need birth control. Catholic nuns are also not allowed to marry or date, and also would never, personally, have the need for birth control.
The people in the crowd who are carrying signs about a rosary might be devout Catholics, who would never dream of going against the rules of their religion by using birth control. However, these groups are very interested in taking away that option from women and families who don’t happen to be Catholic.
Also attending the protest were groups of people who are involved with Pro-Life organizations. From the quotes that they gave Reuters, it appears that this group is incredibly confused. They think that birth control is the exact same thing as abortion, and appear to be protesting the mandate due to their own confusion over the facts of the situation.
Image by Mike Krzeszak on Flickr