Letter to the Editor 2/22

From a conservative perspective, I’d think that Mr. Mark Kozlowski, author of “Contraception mandate unfair,” would understand the desirability of encouraging people to keep and maintain jobs instead of creating a government-controlled health system. To the Editor,

From a conservative perspective, I’d think that Mr. Mark Kozlowski, author of “Contraception mandate unfair,” would understand the desirability of encouraging people to keep and maintain jobs instead of creating a government-controlled health system. Since we have less chance of getting that right now than building a colony on the moon, President Barack Obama’s policy, as one of many health initiatives, is a fair compromise.

Ninety-nine percent of American women ages 15 to 44 who have had intercourse have used a contraceptive method. Thirty-one percent of women who have had intercourse are infertile, pregnant, abstinent, etc., and aren’t using a method, but percentage-wise, almost all of them are paying for a privilege that they once enjoyed and might enjoy again. At the average copay of $10 per month, taken, as required, all 12 months, you are paying $120 a year. That can be a big burden for a lot of women, especially the ones who really can’t afford to have another child.

As for the religious argument, churches themselves are still exempt, just not hospitals and universities like Duquesne. Given the large amount of people in those institutions with different religious beliefs, it is a far greater violation of the First Amendment to impose the founding group’s religion on all those people with their own personal beliefs. I’m not arguing we shouldn’t increase funding to Planned Parenthood, but keeping women’s copays for birth control so high isn’t helping.

Leah Burns

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences