Catholic Bishops: Birth Control Is 'Ubiquitous And Inexpensive'

[kpete]

Source: Huffington Post

Catholic Bishops: Birth Control Is 'Ubiquitous And Inexpensive'

WASHINGTON -- As part of their intensely focused effort to repeal the Obama administration's new contraception coverage policy, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released a manifesto of sorts on Wednesday, in which they assert that birth control is "ubiquitous and inexpensive."

"We wish to clarify what this debate is -- and is not -- about," the bishops said in the statement. "This is not about access to contraception, which is ubiquitous and inexpensive, even when it is not provided by the Church's hand and with the Church's funds."

What the debate is about, according to the statement, is the "unjust and illegal" mandate that "would force virtually all private health plans nationwide to provide coverage of sterilization and contraception -- including abortifacient drugs."

The bishops' statement is somewhat misleading. The new federal rule does not cover any drug that causes an abortion. It does cover emergency contraception, which prevents pregnancy.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/15/catholic-bishops-birth-control-ubiquitous-inexpensive_n_1347859.html

[Wolf Frankula]

1. Let's Get the IRS on This.

The Roaming Cadillac Church ought to lose its tax exemption. Getting involved in politics is a violation of the law. And if the Vatican raises a peep, inform them that attempting to interfere in the US' domestic affairs will be considered an act of war.

Wolf Frankula

[Angry Dragon]

3. +127

[kestrel91316]

4. [phone]

[IndyJones]

12. Last I checked, the universities and hospitals were taking tax payer funds. So it's not really

accurate to say "church money", now is it!

Newsflash: If you don't want "Cesar" telling you what to do, then don't take money from "Cesar".

[Igel]

16. Politics, okay.

Partisan politics, not okay.

And that's sensu stricto. "Partisan" doesn't mean "the parties opine differently on this matter."

Endorse or oppose a party candidate and that's partisan. Endorse or oppose a bit of legislation and that's working for social good.

It doesn't matter if it's the Catholic Church or the National Organization for Women. If you have one of several different non-profit statuses, you're non-partisan.

(Possible objection: The National Organization for Women endorsed Obama. Nope: The National Organization for Women PAC was organized for engaging in partisan politics; it endorsed Obama and the non-profit NOW publicized this widely. But NOW does engage in a lot of debate over legislation and policies, but those are *governmental* and not *partisan*.)

[joeglow3]

35. You might want to re-read Section 501

Organizations are free to discuss ISSUES, just not candidates. This appears to be what they are doing.

[Renew Deal]

2. This is not about contraception

It is about contraception.

[SunSeeker]

5. Isn't bearing false witness a sin?

But then, if these bishops believed in God, they wouldn't be hiding child rapists.

[jbpdx]

6. God damn

Abraham.

[BadgerKid]

7. I'm sure a given fed rule could be objected to by SOME group.

I think the church should get over itself.

[madrchsod]

8. it IS about time the irs start looking into the church`s tax status

i did`t know the boys could advocate public policy.

[joeglow3]

36. Sure can. Read Section 501(c)(3) of the IRC

Just can't support/oppose specific candidates. Issues, however, are perfectly fine.

[99th_Monkey]

9. Who knew? ... that the Catholic Church would ever stoop to be such a brazen "lobbyist for Gawd"?

Never mind all those weird historical footnotes, re: The Inquisition, Indulgences for the Rich and Powerful elite, The Crusades, et. al.

[Ken Burch]

10. Have they been comparison shopping?

Will they publish their findings in "NonConsumer's Reports"?

[SamG]

22. Great question! n/t

[freefall]

11. Definitely the IRS should be looking at the exemption given the Catholic Church. n/t

[fasttense]

13. Are those Catholic Bishops out campaigning for RepubliCONS again?

Those white men in expensive religious robes sure have a lot in common with the RepubliCON party. I get tired of pretending those Bishops are not political.

[polichick]

19. Two biggests cons in history: The RepubliCONS and the CONtholic Church...

And the only way to strip them of power is for people to wake the fuck up!

[MaineDem]

14. And how would these men know?

Yeah, I understand they "researched" the issue but still...

Personally, and I don't mean to insult the good men out there, I couldn't care less what males have to say about what a woman can and cannot do regarding her body.

[sinkingfeeling]

15. 'Abortifacient drugs' are not included. So aren't the Catholic Bishops

breaking a couple of commandments here?

[Igel]

17. Depends on your definition.

There's a lot of that kind of quibbling. "I choose the definition you have to use, and therefore your statement can make no possible sense." In some cases, people choose the science, as well.

A recent IUD post was unequivocal with regards to the science behind IUDs and why they work. The fundie claim was that they prevented implantation and therefore counted as a kind of abortifacient. Overlooking the last part of the claim, it was stated dogmatically that IUDs function only and provably by keeping eggs from being fertilized. This is not true. It may be false, it may not be. IUDs certainly cause secretions that are sperm-hostile, and this is one action that blocks fertilization. On the other hand, it also causes changes to the structure of the uterine tissue, and this would block implantation. The science isn't as settled as many advocates believe.

"Abortifacient" was overlooked in the previous paragraph because blocking implantation is or isn't an abortion depending on your definition of "abortion." If it's defined as terminating a pregnancy any time after conception, then some "contraceptives" are abortifacients: they don't block conception they block implantation. If you define abortion as first requiring implantation, then the contraceptives are mostly contraceptives. However, in some cases some can also trigger the equivalent to spontaneous abortions. One might be able to appeal to jargon and assert that medical jargon is the One True Definition of the word, but that's not how language usually works (or should work).

There are drugs which are taken for the purposes of terminating a pregnancy and which are primarily or clearly intended in most cases to be abortifacient. There's no necessary reason to think that the OP was talking about those. It merely matters that drugs that can function as abortifacients be included in his set of referents.

[sinkingfeeling]

20. Then let's redefine what is 'pregnant' as well. If a fertilized egg is all

it takes to be 'pregnant', then your definition of birth control pills as 'abortifacients' might be right.

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/08/2/gr080207.html

Although widespread, definitions that seek to establish fertilization as the beginning of pregnancy go against the long-standing view of the medical profession and decades of federal policy, articulated as recently as during the Bush administration. In fact, medical experts—notably the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)—agree that the establishment of a pregnancy takes several days and is not completed until a fertilized egg is implanted in the lining of the woman's uterus. (In fact, according to ACOG, the term "conception" properly means implantation.) A pregnancy is considered to be established only when the process of implantation is complete (see box, page 8).

[Rozlee]

25. So? That means they want to stop breast feeding, too?

Nursing a baby releases galactopoietic hormones like prolactin. Breast feeding can be useful as a natural method of birth control, but you'd have to be diligent in performing it; every two hours or so, or you'd risk lowering the levels of lactational hormones and increasing the chances of ovulation. But, nursing of any type causes thinning of the uterine lining, which would cause any fertilized egg to have problems implanting, or if it did, would make nourishing it almost impossible. Women who are having periods during lactation might be having normal periods or miscarrying in such a scenario. But, don't tell those fanatics. They'll be out there with bills telling women breast-feeding is too mammalian.

[polichick]

18. People who give a shit about what these pedophile-protecting bishops think...

...are fucking nuts imo.

[lovuian]

21. I don't think so

it is not cheap

[MountainLaurel]

23. And don't forget the annual doctor's visit

That goes along with contraceptives.

[vankuria]

26. And follow up visits as well...

BTW how would they even know what birth control costs!!

[freshwest]

24. Biting my tongue on the obvious snark begging to come forth here...

[CTyankee]

27. I'm getting pretty goddamned fed up with hearing from these bishops.

We should never have allowed them to get away with their bellowing about THEIR freedom of religion a couple of months ago, forcing Obama to retreat on his original plan.

I am so sick of these men telling us all how we should live our lives, to protect their precious "freedom."

It's disgusting...

[denem]

28. $10.98 at Amazon

21st Century Edition

[goclark]

33. That is exactly what I needed

I feel like taking the entire bottle.

[BiggJawn]

29. Doesn't cost anything to pull out or count days...

The ONLY birth control the church approves of...

Even though Pat Robertson says "69 is fine"...

[Ken Burch]

31. And, seriously, did anyone EVER want to put "Pat Robertson" and "69" together in the same thought?

(granted...that image probably will help some people become abstinent...if for no other reason than the desperate wish to blot it out of their minds!)

[BiggJawn]

32. Scary image....

His Co-Host says "I'm TOO YOUNG for this question!", yet that's the best time for oral sex, when you're young.
Or when you're not so young...

[Mimosa]

30. How about for women earning 8 bucks an hour + no health insurance?

8 or 9 bucks an hour for pay is becoming more common.

Go to hell, bishops.

[Joe Bacon]

34. Sorry Bishops, I will not bow down before a Golden Elephant.

They've shown their true god to be selfishness. Why don't they just go all the way and dump the Bible for Atlas Shrugged?

It's time to take these crooks off of welfare once and for all. If they wanna play, make em pay!