Contraception: Women's health vs. bishops' sensibilities

I MAY not be as theologically sophisticated as American bishops, but I had thought that Jesus talked more about helping the poor than about banning contraceptives.

He points out why the insurance issue matters, that

for many Americans living on the edge, it's a borderline luxury.

The cost of birth control is one reason poor women are more than three times as likely to end up pregnant unintentionally as middle-class women.

In short, birth control is not a frill that can be lightly dropped to avoid offending bishops. Coverage for contraception should be a pillar of our public health policy - and, it seems to me, of any faith-based effort to be our brother's keeper, or our sister's.

consider that every dollar that the United States government spends on family planning reduces Medicaid expenditures by $3.74

We learn the Christian Science Monitor, published under the auspices of a religion which does not believe in normal medical care offers "a standard health insurance package" to its employees.

Have I got your attention?

There is more.

But just let me offer Kristo's final words:

If we have to choose between bishops' sensibilities and women's health, our national priority must be the female half of our population.

What about you?

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I love the points this writer makes.  I knew how important reproductive choices are to women, but I didn't know that for every dollar spent on family planning, we save $3.74 on Medicaid expenses.  It seems more than reasonable that women have access to affordable family planning and contraception.