February 22, 2012
By Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Last week a debate on contraception gripped the nation in a way we have not seen in decades.
This debate on whether contraception should be part of a woman's health insurance plan is alarming, because 99 percent of women in this country have used contraception at some point in their lives.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) calls contraception one of the 10 leading advances in medicine of the past century, akin to vaccinating against infectious diseases and antibiotics.
Contraception is an important part of women’s preventive health care. It not only prevents unwanted pregnancies, but also allows couples to limit family size, increase the interval between pregnancies, and reduces infant, child and maternal deaths in women whom, either because of age or health, should not become pregnant. Oral contraceptives can also be crucial for women who suffer from painful maladies like endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, or debilitating menstrual cramps or irregular periods.
Too many people across our country struggle every month to scrape together enough money for their prescriptions. I believe that no woman and no family should be denied access to affordable, preventive medical care. As a state legislator, I passed legislation to require coverage of contraceptives for 100,000 state employees.
Now as a federal legislator who remains committed to affordable, quality health care for women, I often meet women who talk to me about their struggles to make ends meet, despite working several jobs, in an effort to take care of their families. For many women, that little pack of 28 pills is key to maintaining economic stability so that they don’t have to choose between feeding their family and planning a family.
Yet over the past year, this country has been thrust into a debate about women’s health care and the government’s ability to intervene in a woman’s private medical decisions. Far too often, rather than focusing on creating jobs or continuing to rebuild our economy, Republicans have focused on how to limit women’s access to affordable health care. We’ve even seen initiatives that would ban many forms of contraception and even infertility treatments placed on ballots as “personhood amendments” in some states. This is unconscionable – and it’s not how we should be treating women in this country.
With 99 percent of women across this country, from every faith and background, using contraceptives at some point in their lives, we must ensure that the federal government is not standing in their way.
So what does this actually mean for women in South Florida? It means that preventive services, including contraceptives, will still be part of a basic health care plan for women across the country starting in August later this year. If a woman works at a religious institution, she will still have access to those services, if she chooses.
An important distinction that is worth repeating is that religious institutions will not be responsible for providing or paying for contraceptives, because insurance companies will cover the cost. And houses of worship, such as churches, synagogues and mosques, are still exempt from the rule.
This announcement does not compromise the freedom to practice any religion one chooses. It simply ensures that everyone has access to the same health care options. Whether or not someone chooses to take advantage of the preventive services available is entirely up to each individual. I firmly believe that medical decisions should be between a woman and her doctor.
I applaud and support the President’s announcement that will expand access to no-cost contraceptives for all women in this country, regardless of where they work, while respecting the sacred tenets of the separation of church and state. This is a respectful, reasonable accommodation that will allow religiously affiliated institutions to adhere to their beliefs while offering employees of all faiths access to quality, affordable care. At a time when our economy is still rebuilding, women should not have to choose between keeping their job and having access to affordable contraception. This announcement ensures that they can have both.
