BY: EMILY HAWKINSON, SARAH MACEDONIA, HEATHER RICKS, & ANDREW WHITIS Controversy Surrounding the Obama Administration’s Compromise on Contraception Benefits

Fact #1 People are going to have sex without the intentions of having a child. #2 We can easily circumvent unwanted pregnancies through simple contraceptives.

Cost Unplanned pregnancies cost us $12 billion dollars a year. Medicaid covers 41% of births in the U.S. The average cost for one birth is $12,613. Whereas one year of birth control is $257. For every dollar invested in contraceptives we save $3.74. However, if Medicaid ends up paying for birth after contraceptive used has ceased we would have lost money.

Affordable Care Act Under the Affordable Care Act, women’s preventative health must be covered by health plans Women receive a comprehensive set of preventative services without having to pay a co-pay

Covered Contraceptive Methods All FDA-approved contraceptive methods prescribed by a woman’s doctor are covered, including:  Barrier methods (used during intercourse), like diaphragms and sponges  Hormonal methods, like birth control pills and vaginal rings  Implanted devices, like intrauterine devices (IUDs)  Emergency contraception, like Plan B  Sterilization procedures  Patient education and counseling Plans aren’t required to cover:  Drugs to induce abortions  Services related to a man’s reproductive capacity, like vasectomies

Controversy About 100 lawsuits have been filed against the contraception coverage mandate Some of the nearly 50 businesses that have sued over covering contraceptives object to paying for all forms of birth control. But the companies involved in the high court case are willing to cover most methods of contraception, as long as they can exclude drugs or devices that the government says may work after an egg has been fertilized.

Controversy Cont’d Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties are the first legal challenges to the rulings under the Affordable Care Act to reach the supreme court.  Both corporations emphasize their desire to operate in harmony with biblical principles while competing in a secular marketplace. That includes their leaders' publicly stated opposition to abortion. Under the ACA, financial penalties of up to $100 per day per employee can be levied on firms that refuse to provide comprehensive health coverage.  Hobby Lobby, which has about 13,000 workers, estimates the penalty could cost it $475 million a year.

Contraception Mandate Effective August 1, 2013  A religious employer is defined as an employer that is organized as non-profit and meet qualifications under the Internal Revenue Code  Group health plan established be religious employers are exempt from the requirement to cover contraceptive services

The Conservative Opinion Many religious institutions believe that the contraceptive mandate is a threat against their religious freedom

Sebelius vs. Hobby Lobby Hobby Lobby was founded by David Green, a self- made billionaire and evangelical Christian S vs. HL is a supreme court case determining whether a company can be exempt from federal government regulations requiring employers to provide contraceptive coverage to their female employees The first suit was filed in September 2012 A ruling is expected in late June

Things to Know About the Case Hobby Lobby provides 16 out of 20 FDA-approved contraceptives The other four drugs are those that they consider to “have the potential to terminate a life”

The Hawaii Model In Hawaii, an employer can opt out but has to tell employees where they can get coverage. The alternative coverage provider has to charge the same amount as the employee would originally pay. The Catholic response to this was negative. They do not want women to have the means to get contraception at all.

Catholics and Contraception According to a recent poll, 89% of all Americans and 82% of U.S. Catholics agree that birth control is morally acceptable Churches and other houses of worship are exempt from the birth control requirement, but affiliated institutions that serve the general public are not. This includes charitable organizations, religious schools, universities and hospitals. The government has argued that religious organizations have to do very little to be "exempted," but Catholic groups say signing that form makes them complicit with providing contraceptive coverage, and therefore violates their religious beliefs.

Catholics and Contraception Cont’d The Catholic Benefits Association wants to offer insurance that wouldn't provide contraception coverage. The association filed one of the largest collective lawsuits against the federal HHS mandate on the grounds that the measure compels the violation of Catholic teachings. The Catholic groups want a judge to temporarily block the law, saying the federal government's definition of a "religious employer" is too narrowly interpreted as a house of worship and does not protect all Catholic employers.

References Bedsider.(2013) No controversy: 5 fantastic argument for better birth control access. Retrieved from obamacare-contraceptive-mandate/ contraceptive-mandate-in-landmark-case/ acceptable_n_ html contraception-mandate-obama/ / United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2012). Catholic healthcare. Retrieved from