President Barack Obama made an announcement on Friday that he will be including some preventive care measures such as ‘coverage of contraceptives’ for women and it would be part of Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act. Women will be able to access free preventive care, under the healthcare decision. Women will have coverage to obtain free contraceptive care, regardless of the stance her workplace takes on this subject.
In case, the woman’s employer has some reservations due to religious affiliations and object to providing contraceptive care, then the insurance companies will have to reach out to these women and offer contraceptive care and services absolutely free of charge, without any hassles or co-pays etc., stated Obama.
Obama also added that religious liberty would be protected and there will be no discrimination against women as per this law, when it comes to free preventive care. He continued to add that we lived in a pluralistic society, hence we may not able to agree on every issue, but it does not mean that they would have to make a choice between fairness for all US citizens and individual liberty.
President Barack Obama also stated that he had received a number of recommendations from Institute of Medicine regarding the same. Health experts had advised him about providing preventive care services for women including birth control measures and suggested that they be included in Obama’s health care plan.
Apart from serving as a family planning method, these contraceptives may also be used to bring down incidences of ovarian cancer as well as other diseases, he added.
At least 99% of the women had taken some form of contraception at some stage in their lives, but over 50% of them in the 18 to 34 age group had always struggled because they could not afford it, quoted Obama.
He felt that all women must be able to take decisions, especially with regard to their own health, he added. However, he felt that as they were making plans to implement the rule, there were other principles at stake, such as religious liberty. This is a right that is a valuable part of the Constitution and is inalienable.
Obama also mentioned that during his first job he worked with Catholic parishes in Chicago’s poor neighborhoods. There he had noticed that religious institutions that were affiliated to the Catholic Church had reservations in providing insurance (where contraceptive care was covered) directly to their employees.
