Birth control sparks concerns

Outrage concerning the birth control mandate might change the tone of an annual pro-life lobby day in Jefferson City, Mo. next Tuesday.

Missouri Right To Life, a pro-life organization with ties across the state, will be participating in the religious freedom rally at the Capitol, said Patty Skain, Missouri Right to Life executive director. Several religious organizations, including the Missouri Catholic Conference and the Missouri Baptist Convention, will host the rally.

The rally is in opposition to the government birth control mandate and in support of Missouri bill SB 749, which will prohibit the government from forcing religious institutions to provide insurance that covers contraception, Skain said.

She said although Missouri Right To Life has no policy about religious freedoms, the organization thinks it is wrong to force any person to participate in or aid in abortion. Skain said her organization chose to become involved in this rally because some types of contraceptives are considered forms of abortion by some pro-life activists.

Randy Hagerty, Political science department chair, said the issue of birth control and religious freedom is fueling debates throughout the country. He said it is an important issue because it creates tension between the fundamental values of religious freedom and a right to health.

This issue will continue to be an important part of the presidential election campaigns, Hagerty said, as well as an important part of other upcoming elections.

The biggest opposition to the mandate has been the Roman Catholic Church, Hagerty said.

Newman Center Director Chris Korte said although the Catholic Church opposes using contraceptives, the current birth control controversy is about the constitutionality of the mandate, not the morality of birth control. He said the mandate is a misuse of government and presidential power.

“It’s crossing the line of what government is there to do,” Korte said. “It should be there to protect people’s rights and instead it’s imposing — it’s mandating — that citizens do things against their consciences.”

Korte said the Catholic Church opposes the use of contraceptives because the methods interfere with the fertilization process, which they believe kills a living person. The Catholic Church also teaches birth control methods interfere with the natural functioning of the body, which they consider sacred, and that contraceptives impose on the sanctity of sexual relations.

The Catholic Church’s view about birth control prevents it from morally providing or paying for birth control methods. The mandate would force Catholic institutions to pay for something they think is immoral, Korte said.

Senior Leslie Bosslet is a member of the Newman Center and said she thinks the mandate is unconstitutional because it violates Americans’ First Amendment rights to practice religion freely.

Bosslet said there is no guaranteed right to have free or cheap birth control. She said women should be able to get medicine they need, but institutions also should have the right to follow their beliefs.

“Women won’t be deprived of anything if this mandate doesn’t go through because there are other resources,” Bosslet said.

Though there are other resources, not all Missouri residents support the rally’s goals. Sophomore Erin Schroeder said she thinks the birth control mandate is an important piece of legislature that ensures women’s rights and ultimately will be good for the country.

Schroeder said as a Christian, she thinks Jesus would want people to use all forms of medicine, including birth control, to help improve the lives of others. She said birth control helps many women with physical problems and should be easily available to women who need it.

Birth control also is important in ensuring children are brought into families that can adequately take care of them, Schroeder said.

“Whether or not you think that people should be having sex if they don’t want to have kids, it happens,” Schroeder said. “So you have to think about if the kids are going to be loved and provided for once they’re born.”

Schroeder said not allowing all women to have access to birth control through their insurance plans, no matter where they work, imposes on their rights and endangers the health of women and their children.

Freshman Blake Kimbrough said he does not think the mandate infringes on religious rights. He said providing birth control in an insurance plan does not prevent any member of Catholic institutions from practicing their religion.

“I think we need to look at what constitutes as reducing religious freedom,” Kimbrough said. “The question we need to look at is ‘Does it reduce your ability to practice your religion?’. I find that in this case the answer is no.”’

Kimbrough said the mandate is important in ensuring a minimum coverage for health insurance, much like the government has set standards for minimum coverage in other types of insurance, such as car and life insurance.