The National Women’s Law Center has put together a sampling list of Catholic – affiliated institutions that provide coverage for contraception in their employer sponsored health insurance plans. Perhaps the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ views about birth control coverage doesn’t match with what all Catholics believe.
There has been a lot of controversy regarding the requirement that employers cover birth control in their employer sponsored health insurance plans. Churches, mosques, and synagogues are exempt from that rule. Recently, religiously affiliated businesses (such as Christian or Catholic universities and hospitals), also became exempt from that rule. Instead, the insurance company of those businesses will have to cover the cost of birth control.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, is the group that has been making the most noise about this issue. The USCCB feels that requiring religiously affiliated businesses to cover birth control in the health insurance plans that it offers to its employees is forcing those businesses to act in a way that is against the business owner’s religious beliefs. They feel that the birth control mandate is an attack on their religious freedom.
The USCCB believe that the use of any form of birth control is against the teachings of the Catholic Church. They believe that it is “intrinsically wrong to use contraception to prevent new human beings from coming into existence”. The Catholic Church does not recognize that some forms of birth control can be used to help with health issues like ovarian cysts, or endometriosis.
It turns out that not all Catholics feel the same way that the USCCB does. A poll that was done by the New York Times and CBS found that 57% of Catholic voters support the federal requirement that religiously affiliated employers’ health insurance covers the cost of birth control. A survey done by the Public Religion Research Institute found that about 58% of American Catholics “believe that employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception”.
The National Women’s Law Center has compiled a list that shows that there are plenty of Catholic institutions that cover birth control. Some of these institutions are located in states that do not have laws that require employers to cover birth control in employer-sponsored health plans.
The University of Notre Dame, in Indiana, covers oral contraceptives for the “correction of existing pathologies of the reproductive system”. A physician must write a letter that says birth control is a medical necessity. It also will cover oral contraceptives and contraceptive devices if “specifically requested by a physician based on medical necessity and for purposes other than contraception”.
Loyola University of New Orleans, in Louisiana, also covers birth control in employee health plans. The plan’s prescription drug benefits include contraceptives. In 2012, the plan expanded to also cover intrauterine contraceptive devices.
Image by Paul J Everett on Flickr