An excerpt from today’s announcement by a coalition of pro-choice and anti-abortion faith leaders, urging the Institute of Medicine panel to include contraception as a preventative service in health care reform, without a co-pay requirement, from Faith in Public Life.
Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that 99% of women aged 15-44 who are sexually active have used a form of contraception, and two recent polls found extremely high support for contraception among evangelical Protestants, who are overwhelmingly opposed to abortion. An April 2010 survey found nearly 90 percent of evangelicals leaders said they approved of artificial methods of contraception, and a 2009 poll conducted by the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) in partnership with Gallup showed that 90 percent of evangelicals find hormonal/barrier methods of contraception to be morally acceptable for adults.
1 comment
Leah says:
Nov 27, 2010
It is heartening to see such fledging support from different religious leaders for the right of a woman to gain control of her own body. Not only is it excellent that there is a strong call for contraceptives to be covered by health care, but also to see approval of contraceptive use from so many different religious leaders and organizations.
Days after a quote from “Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times” was leaked, wherein the Pope supposedly supported the use of condoms, it is great to see religious leaders from all faiths and backgrounds coming together to improve access to contraceptives. As Jim Winkler said, “access to contraception needs to be a part of any comprehensive health care system wanting to enhance quality of life.” I believe that with many religious leaders voicing their support of contraceptives and fighting for contraceptives to be covered by health care, a better quality of life is not a far-fetched goal.