Government birth control controversy

Rebecca Creamer
Forum Editor

I am a woman and I’m for women’s health rights. This includes a woman’s right to have an abortion and use birth control. If you don’t believe the same, I respect your right to believe whatever you want. I’m not asking you to use birth control or have an abortion. I merely want those options available for those who wish to use them.

Recently, President Barack Obama has been pushing a mandate to require employers to provide women with free access to birth control. I met this news with considerable excitement from a feminist’s standpoint. At first glance this is an amazing step forward for women’s rights and feminists in the United States.

In all aspects women should ALWAYS have the right and access to birth control. Men are looked to as “responsible” for purchasing condoms, but women are seen as “trollops” for acquiring contraceptives. It’s a silly double standard. I met this news with applause and lauded the president for being so forward-thinking.

This bill wasn’t met without controversy. Entitled the Affordable Care Act, the bill would require religious, church-affiliated universities and colleges as well as hospitals and nonprofits to include birth control without premiums or co-pays. This bothered me.

The Catholic Church and many universities sued the Obama administration in protest of this mandate and even though I DON’T agree with their views in any way, I found it a bit dangerous that the government would force these institutions to abide by something they don’t believe in..

Many have criticized the president for amending the law in attempts to pacify the religious institutions. Obama met with many religious leaders and attempted to compromise. The law amended requires the insurance companies themselves and not the religious institutions responsible for paying for an employer’s birth control.

Though the religious institutions are currently still not pacified, I believe he did the right thing in listening to their grievances and providing a different solution that wouldn’t require a religious institution to provide for something they didn’t ultimately believe in.

Those who criticize him for backing down, should recognize the idea that everyone has a right in religious freedom, even if we heavily disagree. If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one.

If you don’t believe in birth control don’t use it. It’s your right to do it or not to do it. I’m not religious. I’m not afraid to declare myself as an agnostic, but I believe people have a right to believe in what they choose.

I wish I could change those religions that decree birth control and abortion amoral, but I know I can’t.

They will believe what they will, and I will believe what I shall. I’ll never work for a religious institution because I believe they are wrong to discriminate against women, but we’re a free country. It’s not for the government to decide whether religious institutions should pay for birth control for their employees. It’s up to the people to choose not to work for those institutions.

Obama’s compromise didn’t depict him as someone who backs down to opposition, but as a man who represents ALL his constituents, not just the liberal-minded. I would like to say, and repeat, I do not in any way believe that a woman SHOULDN’T have the right to access birth control or abortions.

Again, I think this bill has incredible potential for woman’s rights everywhere but, I do believe we don’t have the right to mandate what religious institutions believe in or support.