Sixty two percent of the population of women uses contraception. The most common method is the birth control pill. 10.6 million women use this contraception. When used accurately, birth control prohibits pregnancy. Today, due to the Affordable Care Act, all private health plans are required to provide contraceptive coverage at no cost to patients. When congress passed the Affordable Care Act, it created major controversy. “Roman Catholic bishops and others have said the government is stepping on religious liberty by forcing Catholic institutions, such as hospitals, to include contraception in their employees' health insurance plans” (New Haven Register). Others say that people are denying the scientific facts and birth control should be covered …show more content…
People have the opinion that women should have full access to all birth control options. Birth control does not just prevent pregnancy, it also relieves the side effects from menstrual cycles and it also stops acne. Birth control is known to have many benefits. The combination pill is known to “reduce or help prevent: bone thinning, cysts in the breasts and ovaries, endometrial and ovarian cancers, serious infections in the ovaries, anemia, and premenstrual syndrome” (cite). It is also beneficial for women’s and children’s health because the pill prevents unintended pregnancies. Unintended pregnancies are very common and mostly affect low income women who cannot afford the pill. The Institute of Medicine came to the conclusion that women with unintended pregnancies “are more likely to receive delayed or no prenatal care and to smoke, consume alcohol, be depressed, and experience domestic violence during pregnancy” (Rinkunas). Forty-five percent of pregnancies, in 2011, were unintended. Because of this high percentage of unintended pregnancies, the Institute of Medicine recommended the federal government to cover the cost of all forms of birth control. This recommendation was one of eight by the Institute of Medicine to be incorporated into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Congress passed the PPACA federal health care reform, and Obama signed it into …show more content…
Many people think that ObamaCare is too expensive and that it is unfair that contraceptives are free when people struggling to pay for their medication for heart conditions and other severe medical conditions. Others’ may view that birth control as a form of abortion. Recently, the house introduced the Conscience Protection Act Bill. The bill “is meant to add additional protection for those who are against abortion and birth control on the basis of religion” (Woodsen). Religious beliefs take a vast role in this debate. The Retailer Hobby Lobby and Manufacturer Conestoga Woods are family owned business’ whose religious beliefs hold that birth control is a form of abortion and therefore prohibited by their faith. They believe conception is the moment when life begins. While these enterprises did not refuse to provide their employees with daily birth control pills, but they did refuse to provide the morning after pills and two kinds of intrauterine device. “The majority justices declared that Americans have a right to hold religious beliefs and to not be forced by the government to act in ways that violate those beliefs” (Richey). People think that it is wrong when the government violates their religious beliefs. “Catholic-run institutions should not be forced to pay for or offer to employees a service abhorrent to the official beliefs of the church” (New Haven Register). Ever
The argument that Hobby Lobby, a corporation owned and run by respectable conservative Mennonites wants to be exempt from certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act that would mandate it to provide health insurance coverage that includes forms of abortion birth control also known as contraceptives. For example contraceptives that halt exceptionally early term pregnancies. Hobby Lobby's main argument is that by paying for insurance that provides the health coverage that includes contraceptives for the women that work there, it would be personally responsible on some level for treatment, medications, and devices it objects to. This would in return violate the owners Mennonite religious beliefs.
First, it is imperative to comprehend the implications of the case Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby. This court case is still in litigation and pertains to the Fourteenth Amendment, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), religious freedom, and woman’s access to contraceptives. The ACA requires all insurance companies to cover forms of female birth control. The ACA also requires l...
Welcome to America: land of opportunity and most importantly, free. Well, unless you're a young, possibly teenage girl seeking birth control. We have people with extreme morals and religious beliefs making those decisions for you! Let us not forget the people saying sex education is tainting our youth's brains, yet wonder why they lack the basic knowledge on STDs. Remember, "Choice is an essence of personal freedom," (Brooks, ...About Life Control). Therefore leading to the point that birth control should be complimentary to all.
With all the work put into finding ways to prevent pregnancy and help the pain of menstrual cycles, it is a shame to see it denied to women working for big companies. The amount of girls and women who use any type of birth control is very high and continues to stay this way because of the benefits and the percentage of birth control working for these women. Taking away working women’s access to affordable birth control is unacceptable and I hope that one day soon all women will have access to affordable birth
One major controversy in America today deals with the corporate company of Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is an organization that provides health care, sex education, and information pertaining to anything in reproductive health care to men and women around the world. Over 1.5 million people get provided with sexual education every year through Planned Parenthood, and 2.7 million people in the U.S alone annually visit Planned Parenthood, and over 5 million men and women around the world. This company’s main goal is to prevent unintended pregnancies, and inform young and old on the measures to take if and when unwanted pregnancies happen. There are many different view points with this organization today, and currently it is a major controversy in the eyes of our government.
On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). One element of the PPACA requires employers and educational institutions to provide health insurance for their employees beginning in August 2012. This employer-based health insurance must also include contraception coverage at no additional cost to the employee. In January 2012, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Katherine Sebelius issued regulations stating that nonprofit employers who objected to contraceptive coverage due to religious beliefs had an additional year (until August 2013) to comply with the regulations of the law (Sebelius, 2012). While churches and other houses of worship are exempt from this
Also if you are against abortion this can benefit you as well. Two studies one from researchers in St. Louis and the other from researchers in Iowa provided solid evidence that access to effective birth control can make a difference in this arena. Both studies made super effective birth control methods available and affordable to local women over several years. And both studies resulted in major decreases in unplanned pregnancy and abortion.On the national level, almost half of all pregnancies in the U.S. were unplanned as of 2006, and 43% of those unplanned pregnancies ended in abortion.Of all the women in the U.S. who are having sex and not trying to get pregnant, two-thirds of them use birth control consistently and correctly and those users account for only 5% of unplanned pregnancies. The other 95% of unplanned pregnancies were to the third of U.S. women who weren’t trying to get pregnant but weren’t using birth control or were using it incorrectly or inconsistently. Another large group of people we can hit with these statistics are simply, women. Birth control has wonderful benefits for all teen or adult females who are sexually active. It can be great for their health being that pregnancy is a very risky business and can have a toll on
The most popular form of birth control is the pill. The reason for this is that it is said to be very effective against pregnancy if used correctly, it makes menstrual periods more regular and lighter, they decrease menstrual cramps and acne, makes you less likely to get ovarian and uterine cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, and anemia, and last but not least, it doesn’t interrupt love making. Those are the good things about the pill. There are also a list of negative things: the pill doesn’t protect against S...
Since the Darwinian Revolution of the 19th century our society has turned upside down. Everything under the sun had become questionable, the origin of life, how we came to be, where are we headed and what to do in the here all became questions in life. But one of the greatest impacts of this new age thinking is its effect on our Old World values. Western societies values, morals and ethics became debatable, with some people striving for change and others clinging for stability. Battle lines had been drawn and the Liberals and Conservatives were ready to duke it out on a number of issues. One of these debates centers on a woman?s right to have and abortion. According to the Webster?s dictionary and abortion is defined as a miscarry, something misshapen or unnatural. An abortion is a procedure in which an embryo or fetus is prohibited from developing by artificial means. One could argue that this is next to murder. How can we as a society sanction the murdering of developing babies? Also it can equally be stated that abortion is unnatural and a health hazard to women who have undergone the procedure. Whatever the case, abortion should be outlawed because it is immoral and mothers should face the responsibilities of their actions. Many arguments can be used in order to put an end to abortion or at least in order to establish dialogue. One of the oldest arguments against abortion is the religious standpoint. Western society (Canada & U.S.A.) is historically a Judeo-Christian culture with Judeo-Christian values. Although in recent times we have become an increasingly pluristic society the Old World thinking is still at the heart of our social relations and laws. The Bible says ?Thou shalt not kill? thus prohibiting people from harming others or themselves. Abortion and its advocates violate this law. They seek to change one of the most fundamental values of our society. Pro-choice under this stance is equated with murder and ?playing God?. One may raise the question, how can a minority inflict its views of the majority? According to Francis X. Meenan, this is a false assumption. He goes on to claim that those who favor abortion on demand are the real minority (Bender & Leone, 97). He also claims that the issue of abortion is a moral debate and cannot be settled by numbers. So even if pro-choice advocates outnumbered pro-life advocates, this would prove or...
The issue of abortion has always been a controversial one for citizens of the United States. Abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy after the embryo has been planted in the uterus (Abortion). An individual’s stance on this controversial issue categorizes them into one of two very different groups. An individual who feels that a woman should not have an abortion- due to moral or religious views- is said to be “pro-life”. Coincidently, those who feel that a woman should have the right to choose abortion are said to be “pro-choice”. “Pro-life” supporters point to the practice of abortion as an immoral one. Supporters state abortion is immoral because it takes away the rights of the unborn fetus, since activists consider human life beginning at contraception (Jones). “Pro-life” supporters also believe that the practice of abortion can lead to medical problems- such as emotional duress- succeeding the surgical procedure (Cords). “Pro-choice” advocates refute these claims. Advocates for abortion feel that a woman should have the choice to decide what should or shouldn’t be done to a woman’s body. Activists also point to cases- such as an abnormal pregnancy or dangers that could incur if the pregnancy was forced to proceed- that support the health and wellbeing of the pregnant woman (Reasons Offered for Abortion). Advocates also express examples like an abandoned partner or strives to gain equality in the workplace as other reasons for abortion (Reasons Offered for Abortion). Many opinions throughout the county create a struggle on who should have the final decision to govern the practice. The practice of abortion has been a crucial option to terminate dangerous and unwanted pregnancies- although advocates point to religio...
Today, abortion has become one of the greatest controversies throughout the world. The debate on whether or not abortion should become a legal option continues to dismember not only Americans, but citizens of other countries. There are people who believe abortion is a women’s civil right, and those who consider it as an immoral act. There are those who believe personhood begins at birth, and those who believe personhood begins from the moment of conception. Many contradictory statements lead to the separation of two groups: pro-choice and pro-life.
Abortion, defined as the intentional termination of a pregnancy, is one of the most highly debated liberties of all time. Approximately one to three million abortions are performed each year. Women receive abortions for reasons such as rape, teen pregnancy, and health concerns. Unfortunately, it is a liberty that some still wish to eradicate due to religious beliefs and misconceptions. Abortion should remain a legal option for women because illegal abortions result in far more fatalities, religion does not serve as grounds for a law, and most importantly, there is no conclusive evidence that a fetus is equal to a human being.
People buy health insurance to cover their medical expenses because accidents and health problems can arise at any time. Many health services are not reaching the medical needs of women and giving them exactly what they need and people don’t realize that there is more to birth control then what it seems. There are a lot of benefits from birth control and it is not just women trying to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Some examples of these benefits include; healthier skin, stopping menstrual flow, and preventing pelvic inflammatory disease. Society needs to be more aware of these benefits so that these women start getting the medical attention that they need. Therefore, birth control should be 100% covered by all insurance companies.
With so many women choosing to have abortions, it would be expected that it would not be so greatly frowned up, yet society is still having problems with its acceptance. Every woman has the fundamental right to decide for herself, free from government interference, whether or not to have an abortion. Today, more than ever, American families do not want the government to trample on their right to privacy by mandating how they must decide on the most intimate, personal matters. That is why, even though Americans may differ on what circumstances for terminating a crisis pregnancy are consistent with their own personal moral views, on the fundamental question of who should make this personal decision, the majority of Americans agree that each woman must have the right to make this private choice for herself. Anti-choice proposals to ban abortions for “sex-selection” or “birth-control” are smokescreens designed to shift the focus of the debate away from this issue and trivialize the seriousness with which millions of women make this highly personal decision. Any government restriction on the reasons for which women may obtain legal abortions violates the core of this right and could force all women to publicly justify their reasons for seeking abortion.
Page starts off her the first chapter entitled, “ Rights in Jeopardy,” with reported cases around the country were pharmacists refused to fill prescriptions for emergency contraceptives or birth control because their religious beliefs and/or stances against abortion. Pages presents these cases, which all happened in 2004, to illustrate how pro-lifers try to enforce their views and lifestyles on the people around them and how that is putting women’s right to use contraception and have legal abortions in danger. Page proclaims, “Pro-life groups are not merely antiabortion and anti– birth control. They are against sex and the sex lives the vast majority of Americans enjoy.” (30) This shows that pro-lifers are ultimatel...