USA: URGENT Action Alert: Tell Obama Administration: Don't Expand Religious Refusal for Contraception!

El Sexuality Information and Education Council of United States (SIECUS) nos envia esta nota para que nos unamos en evitar que grupos religiosos en dicho país pongan en riesgo la cubierta por los planes médicos a métodos anticonceptivos, importante victoria alcanzada el pasado mes de julio y que también tiene impacto en Puerto Rico.

Tell the Obama Administration:
Don't Expand Religious Refusal for Contraception!

Women across the country are now facing the very real possibility that the Obama administration will expand the current religious exemption for the contraceptive coverage requirement in the women’s health preventive services benefit, possibly within the coming days.

Background: In August, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule adopting the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that health plans cover the full range of FDA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women, without cost-sharing. The initial proposed rule included an unnecessary exemption for religious employers from the contraceptive coverage requirement, which would allow group health plans in non-profit organizations that primarily employ persons who share the religious tenets of the organization. SIECUS, along with many of our colleague organizations, strongly opposes this draft exemption as a matter of policy and law, and has urged the administration to remove the provision in any final rule.

The Obama administration is under intense pressure to give even more ground to religious groups that have claimed infringement on their “religious liberty” in seeking to have their beliefs/tenets bind all Americans’ health insurance coverage. These groups do not support access to contraception and will not do so no matter the exemption made. Using paid and earned media, they are turning up the heat on the president to expand this harmful rule, so we need to match, and exceed, their efforts and let President Obama know that we will never back down when it comes to fighting to have full access to contraceptives that help preserve the health and safety of women.

We urge you to contact the White House today at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact or 202-456-1111 and tell the President not to expand the religious exemption. Ask him to stand with the 99% of women who use contraception and the millions of families that need access to contraceptive services to make responsible decisions for themselves. Urge him to protect women’s health and to not undermine the Affordable Care Act’s historic protections for women’s access to preventive health services!

Time is of the essence – please add your voice in support of contraceptive coverage without cost-sharing or discriminatory restrictions.

Thank you for taking action!

Jen Heitel Yakush
Director of Public Policy
SIECUS