One of the hottest topics of the 2012 election is the argument of mandating certain institutions to provide birth control for female employees through medical coverage.
Many Christian oriented institutions, including churches, hospitals, and schools, desire to opt out of these mandates due to religious convictions.
The Obama administration offered to expand the number of faith-based groups that can opt out from the contraception mandate and proposed that third-party companies administer coverage for self-insured faith-based groups at no cost.
To some, this compromise seems fair and effective.
“I think if institutions don’t want to provide free birth control, they shouldn’t have to,” said junior Emily Lemoine. “I think it’s up to the individual to get birth control.”
Many denominations of the Christian faith speak out against the usage of birth control because it promotes premarital sex. These groups often see the use of contraceptives as a sin against God.
Among these believers is GOP candidate, Rick Santorum.
“I don’t think (contraception) works,” said Santorum in a 2006 interview with a Comcast program. “I think it’s harmful to women. I think it’s harmful to our society to have a society that says that sex outside of marriage is something that should be encouraged or tolerated, particularly among the young and it has I think we’ve seen very, very harmful long-term consequences to the society. Birth control to me enables that and I don’t think it’s a healthy thing for our country.”
The question of birth control availability remains under debate.
“I think birth control should be available free to everyone who wants it,” said junior Rachel Berman. “I think it’s important that women are protected and get to use it for other medical reasons.”
“Personally I feel like women have it a lot harder than men do in life,” said senior Chermara White. “When a woman gets pregnant she may not have all the support she needs, so I think that they should [get free contraception] because not everyone’s situation is the same.”