Jenn Giroux
Government mandated birth control coverage: placing women at higher risk for Cancer and Catholic hospitals at risk of closing
USCCB speaks out
By Jenn Giroux
It is recommended by the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) , in a report commissioned by the Obama administration, that all U.S.-approved birth control methods — including the "morning-after pill," taken after sexual relations to stop a pregnancy — be added to the list of preventive health services.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reveals her complete bias and ignorance with the following statement: "These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need."
One has to wonder where Sebelius was when the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization) issued their report classifying "the Pill" and other hormonal contraceptives used by young girls and women as a Group 1 carcinogen. This group includes not just "The Pill" and other forms of oral birth control but non-oral methods of Birth Control as well . These include the rod implant, hormone infused vaginal rings, Patches, and the IUD -Intrauterine Device, Mirena. Other substances listed in this category as cancer causing agents by the World Health Organization include asbestos and tobacco found in cigarettes. Sebelius and her cronies reflect either a stunning ignorance of the facts or a blatant disregard for the health of American women. In either case, American women suffer the consequences.
As if identifying "The Pill" as a Group 1 carcinogen were not enough....other frightening facts that have come to light in recent years:
* a Mayo Clinic study reveals that any young girl or woman who takes "The Pill" or other form of hormonal contraception for 4 years prior to her first full term pregnancy increases her risk of breast cancer by 52%.
*Women who use a hormonal contraceptive for more than 5 years are four times more likely to develop cervical cancer.
How is it that instead of warning women of the danger that lies ahead, our government is leading them down the path of government assisted destruction.
This latest item on the self-serving agenda of this sex-obsessed administration is a sickening display of willful and intentional blindness. A government once 'of the people' has now become one that is "against the people."
Increased distribution of free contraception will continue to have a long term impact on the physical and spiritual health of women. And according to Planned Parenthood's own research arm, the Guttmacher Institute, it will also lead to MORE not less abortions. Over 50%, they tell us, admit to showing up for abortions due to failed contraception. If we pull back the curtain we can see that this mandate will increase the flow of business to the abortion industry that Sebelius herself has long protected from legal prosecution.
For years mainstream organizations that opposed abortion refused to speak out against contraception.
How much longer can they ignore the obvious?
If there is a Republican candidate out there brave enough to undo the damage of this administration, will he or she please stand up? We need someone who will push back with the same boldness and persistence that has been shamelessly used to mandate the agenda of the left.
That will bring 'preventative care' to a whole new level by preventing the intrusion of government, whose new mandate we now suffer under.
USCCB: HHS MANDATE FOR CONTRACEPTIVE AND ABORTIFACIENT DRUGS VIOLATES CONSCIENCE RIGHTS
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sharply criticized a new HHS "preventive services" mandate requiring private health plans to cover female surgical sterilization and all drugs and devices approved by the FDA as contraceptives, including drugs which can attack a developing unborn child before and after implantation in the mother's womb. "Although this new rule gives the agency the discretion to authorize a 'religious' exemption, it is so narrow as to exclude most Catholic social service agencies and healthcare providers," said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities. "For example, under the new rule our institutions would be free to act in accord with Catholic teaching on life and procreation only if they were to stop hiring and serving non-Catholics," Cardinal DiNardo continued. "Could the federal government possibly intend to pressure Catholic institutions to cease providing health care, education and charitable services to the general public? Health care reform should expand access to basic health care for all, not undermine that goal." "The Administration's failure to create a meaningful conscience exemption to the preventive services mandate underscores the need for Congress to approve the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act," the Cardinal said. That bill (H.R. 1179), introduced by Reps. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Dan Boren (D-OK), would prevent mandates under the new health reform law from undermining rights of conscience. Cardinal DiNardo added: "Catholics are not alone in conscientiously objecting to this mandate. The drugs that Americans would be forced to subsidize under the new rule include Ella, which was approved by the FDA as an 'emergency contraceptive' but can act like the abortion drug RU-486. It can abort an established pregnancy weeks after conception. The pro-life majority of Americans — Catholics and others — would be outraged to learn that their premiums must be used for this purpose." "HHS says the intent of its 'preventive services' mandate is to help 'stop health problems before they start,'" said Cardinal DiNardo. "But pregnancy is not a disease, and children are not a 'health problem' — they are the next generation of Americans." "It's now more vital than ever that Congress pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act to close the gaps in conscience protection in the new health care reform act, so employers and employees alike will have the freedom to choose health plans in accordance with their deeply held moral and religious beliefs." In a July 22 letter supporting the bill, Cardinal DiNardo wrote: "Those who sponsor, purchase and issue health plans should not be forced to violate their deeply held moral and religious convictions in order to take part in the health care system or provide for the needs of their families or their employees. To force such an unacceptable choice would be as much a threat to universal access to health care as it is to freedom of conscience." The full text of Cardinal DiNardo's letter is available online at www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/religious-liberty/upload/respect-for-rights-of-conscience-act-cardinal-dinardo-letter-to-congress-hr1179-07-22-11.pdf. Cardinal DiNardo also addressed the Institute of Medicine's recommendations on preventive services for women in a July 19 statement: www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2011/11-143.shtml —
© Jenn Giroux
August 2, 2011
It is recommended by the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) , in a report commissioned by the Obama administration, that all U.S.-approved birth control methods — including the "morning-after pill," taken after sexual relations to stop a pregnancy — be added to the list of preventive health services.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reveals her complete bias and ignorance with the following statement: "These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need."
One has to wonder where Sebelius was when the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization) issued their report classifying "the Pill" and other hormonal contraceptives used by young girls and women as a Group 1 carcinogen. This group includes not just "The Pill" and other forms of oral birth control but non-oral methods of Birth Control as well . These include the rod implant, hormone infused vaginal rings, Patches, and the IUD -Intrauterine Device, Mirena. Other substances listed in this category as cancer causing agents by the World Health Organization include asbestos and tobacco found in cigarettes. Sebelius and her cronies reflect either a stunning ignorance of the facts or a blatant disregard for the health of American women. In either case, American women suffer the consequences.
As if identifying "The Pill" as a Group 1 carcinogen were not enough....other frightening facts that have come to light in recent years:
* a Mayo Clinic study reveals that any young girl or woman who takes "The Pill" or other form of hormonal contraception for 4 years prior to her first full term pregnancy increases her risk of breast cancer by 52%.
*Women who use a hormonal contraceptive for more than 5 years are four times more likely to develop cervical cancer.
How is it that instead of warning women of the danger that lies ahead, our government is leading them down the path of government assisted destruction.
This latest item on the self-serving agenda of this sex-obsessed administration is a sickening display of willful and intentional blindness. A government once 'of the people' has now become one that is "against the people."
Increased distribution of free contraception will continue to have a long term impact on the physical and spiritual health of women. And according to Planned Parenthood's own research arm, the Guttmacher Institute, it will also lead to MORE not less abortions. Over 50%, they tell us, admit to showing up for abortions due to failed contraception. If we pull back the curtain we can see that this mandate will increase the flow of business to the abortion industry that Sebelius herself has long protected from legal prosecution.
For years mainstream organizations that opposed abortion refused to speak out against contraception.
How much longer can they ignore the obvious?
If there is a Republican candidate out there brave enough to undo the damage of this administration, will he or she please stand up? We need someone who will push back with the same boldness and persistence that has been shamelessly used to mandate the agenda of the left.
That will bring 'preventative care' to a whole new level by preventing the intrusion of government, whose new mandate we now suffer under.
USCCB: HHS MANDATE FOR CONTRACEPTIVE AND ABORTIFACIENT DRUGS VIOLATES CONSCIENCE RIGHTS
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sharply criticized a new HHS "preventive services" mandate requiring private health plans to cover female surgical sterilization and all drugs and devices approved by the FDA as contraceptives, including drugs which can attack a developing unborn child before and after implantation in the mother's womb. "Although this new rule gives the agency the discretion to authorize a 'religious' exemption, it is so narrow as to exclude most Catholic social service agencies and healthcare providers," said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities. "For example, under the new rule our institutions would be free to act in accord with Catholic teaching on life and procreation only if they were to stop hiring and serving non-Catholics," Cardinal DiNardo continued. "Could the federal government possibly intend to pressure Catholic institutions to cease providing health care, education and charitable services to the general public? Health care reform should expand access to basic health care for all, not undermine that goal." "The Administration's failure to create a meaningful conscience exemption to the preventive services mandate underscores the need for Congress to approve the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act," the Cardinal said. That bill (H.R. 1179), introduced by Reps. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Dan Boren (D-OK), would prevent mandates under the new health reform law from undermining rights of conscience. Cardinal DiNardo added: "Catholics are not alone in conscientiously objecting to this mandate. The drugs that Americans would be forced to subsidize under the new rule include Ella, which was approved by the FDA as an 'emergency contraceptive' but can act like the abortion drug RU-486. It can abort an established pregnancy weeks after conception. The pro-life majority of Americans — Catholics and others — would be outraged to learn that their premiums must be used for this purpose." "HHS says the intent of its 'preventive services' mandate is to help 'stop health problems before they start,'" said Cardinal DiNardo. "But pregnancy is not a disease, and children are not a 'health problem' — they are the next generation of Americans." "It's now more vital than ever that Congress pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act to close the gaps in conscience protection in the new health care reform act, so employers and employees alike will have the freedom to choose health plans in accordance with their deeply held moral and religious beliefs." In a July 22 letter supporting the bill, Cardinal DiNardo wrote: "Those who sponsor, purchase and issue health plans should not be forced to violate their deeply held moral and religious convictions in order to take part in the health care system or provide for the needs of their families or their employees. To force such an unacceptable choice would be as much a threat to universal access to health care as it is to freedom of conscience." The full text of Cardinal DiNardo's letter is available online at www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/religious-liberty/upload/respect-for-rights-of-conscience-act-cardinal-dinardo-letter-to-congress-hr1179-07-22-11.pdf. Cardinal DiNardo also addressed the Institute of Medicine's recommendations on preventive services for women in a July 19 statement: www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2011/11-143.shtml —
© Jenn Giroux
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