Friday’s rally on the statehouse grounds in Topeka involved mostly Catholics protesting the recently upheld Affordable Care Act because, according to Gov. Sam Brownback, it would require people of faith to “violate their beliefs in order to fulfill a government objective.”
The governor extrapolated from the health care ruling that Catholics, especially, would be forced to pay for abortions.
In a word — no.
The health care act insists health insurance cover contraception — not abortions.
In Friday’s protests all sorts of misconceptions abounded, including:
* The morning-after pill destroys a developing baby. No, the morning-after pill prevents fertilization of an egg.
* Catholic-operated hospitals would be required to pay for contraception. No, the Catholic church is not being targeted. In fact, all people covered by insurance will enjoy free contraception services, including sterilization, as part of their employers’ insurance plans. Again, abortions are not included in this coverage.
Despite these facts, Catholics — and Republicans in general — continue to contend the Obama administration is “making” them do things that go against their religion.
Prithee, what?
PROTESTS such as Friday’s give the impression Catholics would prefer to live in the Dark Ages where women were considered chattel and had no say over their bodies or reproductive rights.
In truth, 90 percent of Catholic women use contraceptives, despite the official opinion of the church.
It used to be that women tried to regulate their pregnancies through the method regimen, where a woman’s fertile periods were tracked using such signs as temperature and cervical mucus.
As with most women, Catholic women decided this was unreliable as far as preventing pregnancy, hence the surge in the pill ever since its introduction in the 1960s.
And for the record, a majority of Catholic women also favor employers’ insurance plans cover the costs of contraception.
Brownback’s argument is lame because no one is being forced to practice contraception.
Turn the tables, however, and deny women insurance coverage for birth control and that becomes punitive.
— Susan Lynn