Apparently reacting to the new worry America’s Catholic bishops have developed about health insurance plans covering contraception, Xavier University will cut off birth-control coverage for staff in July. Xavier is a Jesuit-affiliated college in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hurry up and get sterilized, guys.
According to an article by Janice Morse in the Cincinnati Enquirer:
In a letter posted on the university website, Xavier President Michael J. Graham [right] said discussion of President Barack Obama’s proposals on mandatory contraception coverage prompted him to review existing health-insurance coverage at the university. Obama’s health-care law requires insurers to cover “preventive care” at no cost to the consumer.
Graham wrote that the compromise Obama advanced “is insufficient for a number of reasons, and it is likely that the constitutional issue of religious freedom at the heart of this controversy will be decided by the courts.”
Graham concluded that, “absent a legal mandate, it is inconsistent for a Catholic institution to cover those drugs and procedures which the church opposes.”
Graham also explained that he hopes that “the time between now and then will allow individuals in the University to prepare for this change.” It’s unclear why Graham believes that three months is an appropriate time for the institution to continue the sinful practice of birth control and sterilization coverage.
Graham, as a Catholic priest, will be personally unaffected by the policy change. The Xavier president did not indicate that employees will receive any more money in their paychecks, now their health insurance provider, Humana, will no longer cover contraception. [Image via]
