Spartan Daily

A Catholic's view on female contraceptive policies

Boris Slager is a Spartan Daily staff writer.

Employers should provide contraceptives under their health care plan to female employees.

That is one of the two things that have been in politics recently; the other thing in politics right now is that Obama is unleashing a war on religion.

This is ludicrous. He would lose the election if he did that.

My answer to the contraceptive question is yes. In fact women and men who are not working should be provided with them as well.

President Obama made a plan that would have required all institutions to pay, including religious orders, for a woman’s contraceptive needs.

The only reason this is even an issue is because the United States is the only industrial nation that does not have universal health care.

 A question in politics is who should pay for any kind of health care.

The answer is taxpayers. This is true whether coverage is universal or just so women can receive contraceptives.

I understand Obama did this to try and cut down on the unintended pregnancies, abortions and the use of the morning-after pill.

However, what he did not understand is that most people know where and how to get contraceptives. Also, he did not take into account that people may choose not to use them at all.

I bet that most of the student population at SJSU knows where and how to obtain forms of contraception.

Obama was met with harsh criticisms from Catholics on this issue, saying it was immoral of him to provide coverage that included contraceptives.

They were right about that. It is our First Amendment right to freedom of religion and a religious order should not be forced to do something that goes against it's core beliefs.

Due to the backlash Obama was receiving and the fact that is an election year, he changed the policy.

The compromise is that the religious order no longer has to cover the women who work for them with insurance that has contraceptives. Instead it will be up to the insurer to cover that cost.

A problem with this is that insurers will find a way to pass the cost on to the consumer.

Contraceptives are any form of birth control. Some of the different forms of contraceptives include a sponge, a female condom and the pill.

Each form of birth control comes with a risk. A male condom has a low risk of problems, whereas the pill has a higher risk of problems.

The risks of a male condom has are that it could break or a woman can have an allergic reaction to the condom.

The pill has more than three times that number of problems, some of which include dizziness, mood swings, blood clots and heart attacks, according to http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/birth-control-methods.cfm.

The shot has a side effect of bone loss if a woman uses it for a long period of time, according to the web-site above.

This shot has hormones which prevents pregnancy for three months, according to planned parenthood.

We all know that the safest thing is not to have sex before marriage. However, the likelihood of most college students not having sex before marriage is slim.

If you plan to have sex, make sure to only do it with someone you know and know the risks of contraceptives.

Whether you agree with employers providing coverage to employees or not, you should agree with a woman's right to choose.

Everyone should be given contraceptives unless it goes against their religious belief.