
We were excited to report that insured women would no longer have to dish out a copay for their birth control beginning in January 2013 under new insurance guidelines set forth by the Obama administration.
However, the health care law includes an exception for religious organizations that morally oppose contraception, which has frustrated members of both Catholic and pro-choice communities.
They feel that the exception could exclude thousands of women employed by religious institutions from the preventative benefits the new law offers.
For example, Catholics for Choice president Jon O’Brien in a statement:
“The multi-billion dollar Catholic health care industry has a lot of influence with this administration, influence that it has now used to allow religious institutions to ride roughshod over the needs of their workers. Not only that, it ignores the consciences of those who decide that to use a modern method of family planning is what is best for them and their families."
A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood said, overall, they were pleased by the new insurance guidelines, but "disappointed" that some women would be left out of the birth control coverage.
The spokesperson maintained their pledge to help women in need of affordable birth control, saying:
"Planned Parenthood will continue to work hard to ensure that all women, regardless of their employer or insurer, have access to the health care they need, including affordable birth control."
The new law is certainly better than nothing, but hopefully ALL women will have access to affordable and effective birth care one day!
[Image via AP Images.]
Tags: benefits, catholic, coverage, insurance, planned parenthood, preventative, spokesperson, women