As a member of the clergy and a person of faith, I welcomed the decision of the Obama administration to cover contraceptives services as preventive care in the Affordable Care Act. The decision acknowledges what those of us who work in pastoral care know — women’s access to contraceptive services is essential for their reproductive health, and is critical to the success and health of families in our community.
Regardless of religious affiliation, women in the United States use family planning. More than 98 percent of sexually active women of all religious faiths use modern contraception during their lives. Yet, without insurance coverage, the costs of birth control — as much as $50 to $100 a month — can take a toll on the women and families who need it most. Fundamental fairness and equity indicate that women deserve this health care coverage, just as surely as any other essential preventive services.
I believe, as a member of the clergy, that we should empower women and men to make their own moral decisions about whether and when to have children, and should assure them the means and ability to raise their children in a safe and healthy environment. In making its decision, the administration wisely followed the thoughtful recommendation of experts at the Institute of Medicine (IOM), who last summer urged that contraceptive services be covered under the new health care insurance program without out-of-pocket expenses to consumers.
The Obama administration granted an exemption to this coverage for houses of worship that primarily serve and employ people of their own faith. However, they chose not to further extend the exemption to a broad group of other employers who have religious affiliations, but serve the general public and employ people of diverse faiths. Had the many religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and nonprofit organizations in our communities been a part of the exemption, the decision about accessing contraceptive services would have been taken away from the women employees — individuals who are exercising their own faith traditions. That, I believe, goes too far. All women deserve the right to decide for themselves whether to access contraceptive services based on their own needs and circumstances.
I have worked very closely with the Catholic leadership on many projects that help people in our communities, and it is with this in mind that I respectfully disagree with the assertion that religiously affiliated employers in the U.S. should be able to claim an expansive exemption from the law. Under the Obama administration decision, individual employees can follow their own faith traditions, regardless of their employer’s religious perspective. This is fair and just.
Access to reproductive health services is a moral value embraced across the religious spectrum. As a member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a national interfaith coalition of religious and religiously affiliated organizations from 15 denominations and faith traditions, I support giving women and families access to the contraceptive services they need. I believe that the Obama administration has made a determination that follows the recommendations of experts, respects the diverse faith beliefs of the people in the U.S., and serves the best interests of women and families in our communities.
Timothy McDonald III is senior pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta and former board member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
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