Our Policy Positions

THE FACTS ON BIRTH CONTROL COVERAGE FOR WOMEN

Over the last several days, there has been an incredible amount of discussion about whether women deserve access to no-cost birth control.  It’s become increasingly politicized as anti-women’s health legislators and their allies continue to attack and mislead the public.  The reality is all women deserve access to no-cost birth control; it’s basic preventive health care. 

 

When it comes to the facts on birth control coverage for women, here’s what you need to know.

Americans Support Including Birth Control as Preventive Health Care

More than 99 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 44 who are sexually active have at some point used birth control.  Not to mention the fact that 58 percent of women who use the birth control pill use it for purposes other than pregnancy prevention, including managing endometriosis, ovarian cysts, and other medical conditions.  It’s basic preventative care.  So it’s no surprise that this is one of the most popular benefits of the health care reform law.

Here are the facts:

  • Fifty-six percent of voters support the birth control coverage benefit, including 53 percent of Catholic voters, and 62 percent of Catholics who identify themselves as independents, according to a new Public Policy Polling Poll.
  • Sixty-five percent of Millennials (young people between ages of 18 and 29) believe that employer health care coverage should include contraception at no cost.
  • Birth control use is nearly universal.  Ninety-nine percent of all sexually experienced women and 98 percent of sexually experienced Catholic women have used it at some point in their lives.

Access to Birth Control Improves Women’s Health

There’s a reason birth control was included as preventive health care — a panel of doctors recommended it.  The nonpartisan Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended that birth control be covered as women’s preventive care because it is fundamental to improving not only women’s health, but the health of their families as well.  Medical research has demonstrated this fact for decades.  Improved access to birth control is directly linked to declines in maternal and infant mortality.

Women Struggle with the Cost of Birth Control

This is not just a health issue, it’s an economic issue.  A 2010 survey found that more than a third of female voters have struggled to afford prescription birth control at some point in their lives, and as a result, used birth control inconsistently.  This isn’t surprising considering co-pays for birth control pills typically range between $15 and $50 per month.  That adds up to over $600 per year.  Other methods, such as IUDs, can cost several hundred dollars, even with health insurance.

Any Expansion of the Refusal Provision Could Deny Millions of Women Access to Birth Control

Taking this benefit away would affect Catholics and non-Catholics.  Nearly 800,000 people who receive benefits through Catholic hospitals would lose them.  In fact, the Catholic-affiliated system is so large, one in six Americans gets care there.  Not to mention the approximately two million students and workers who attend universities that have a religious affiliation — where 43 percent of students at Catholic universities and colleges are not even Catholic.  Altogether this would add up to millions of hard-working Americans losing access to this critical benefit that finally makes an essential health care service affordable. 

Failing to Provide Coverage Is Sex Discrimination

Prescription contraceptives are used exclusively by women.  Failure to provide coverage for prescription contraceptive drugs and devices in health plans that otherwise cover prescription drugs violates the Civil Rights Act.  Because it singles out women and treats medication needed for a pregnancy-related condition less favorably, it constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex.

Courts Have Already Ruled:  Religiously Affiliated Organizations Open to the Public Are Not Entitled to Exemptions

Approximately 335,000 churches and houses of worships are already exempt from providing this benefit.  Any expansion to the refusal provision would mean that religiously affiliated hospitals and universities that employ the broader public would be allowed to deny their employees (many of whom do not share the same faith) access to this common benefit.

State supreme courts in California and New York have already found that contraceptive equity laws do not substantially burden religious beliefs or practices, writing that

“[W]hen a religious organization chooses to hire nonbelievers it must, at least to some degree, be prepared to accept neutral regulations imposed to protect those employees’ legitimate interests in doing what their own beliefs permit.” (case citation:  Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany v. Serio, 859 N.E.2d 459, 468 (N.Y. 2006). 

If religiously affiliated hospitals and universities want to be a part of the business world, then they have to follow the same rules as other businesses, including providing insurance coverage for preventive health care without costly co-pays.

People don’t want employers cherry-picking what's covered by their health insurance.  Your health care benefits should not depend on your boss’ personal beliefs.