From: AAUW Action Network

To: Sarah Fassett

Subject: Support Access to Preventive Care and Contraception!

Date: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 5:55:58 PM

AAUW Action Network

<http://ffs.capwiz.com/aauw/images/actionnetwork091409.gif>

Support Access to Preventive Care and Contraception!

We have some good news and we have some bad news. The good news is the

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is considering adopting the

Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) recommendations that women’s preventive health

care be completely covered by any new health insurance plans under the new

health care reform law!

The bad news, unfortunately, is that efforts are underway to expand

“religious refusal” exemptions. If expanded, certain employers would be

exempt from having to provide coverage for contraceptive services to their

female employees if the employer is opposed to contraception.

An expanded exemption would allow an employer to deny their employees access

to care that doctors, medical associations, and the IOM consider necessary.

Besides, with or without an employer exemption, if an employee is opposed to

contraception on religious grounds, she’s unlikely to fill a prescription

for birth control. But these exemptions are also a little sinister.

Religious refusal provisions allow the decision makers at “religious

employers” to determine what sort of contraception, if any, their female

employees will have access to. If the existing religious refusal exemption

is expanded, it would create a broad definition for “religious employers,”

and could impact all employees at some schools, hospitals, charities, and

elsewhere – even if the employee does not share the faith of their employer.

Here’s more good news, however: HHS is currently waiting to hear from the

public <mailto:E-OHPSCA2713.EBSA@dol.gov> ! That’s right – AAUW has a chance

for input, both as an organization and as individual members and

e-advocates.

Take two minutes to send a brief message to HHS. Below, please find draft

language we’ve written that we encourage you to edit and email. Please note:

Your email will be published online (here

<http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/JIYGQKZSNY/NKDRQKZSOK/7226634966> ), so don’t

include your name, address or anything else you don’t want on the web!

To send a message, copy and paste then edit the provided draft in an email

to:

E-OHPSCA2713.EBSA@dol.gov

I join with the American Association of University Women (AAUW) in asking

you to accept the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine as pertain to

coverage of preventive care under the new health care law, and to reject any

exemptions for “religious employers.” These preventive services are a

critical element of the new law and would provide countless women better

access to necessary health care.
While AAUW believes that “religious refusal” exemptions unjustly deny women

access to contraceptive services, others, driven by an ideological distaste

for all contraceptive services, are pushing the government to make

exemptions even larger. Indeed, some groups are pushing for the exemption to

apply to religiously-run health providers, so hospitals with religious

affiliations would be exempt from the coverage requirement, even though they

employ people of all faiths and ideologies. If granted, this larger

exemption would deny access to thousands of women just because of where they

work.

I urge you to ensure women have access to quality preventive care by

accepting IOM’s recommendations and rejecting the proposed religious refusal

exemption provisions.

Remember: You can always help strengthen AAUW’s efforts to support access to

contraception and preventive health care by making a tax-deductible donation

to AAUW <http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/JIYGQKZSNY/INVBQKZSOL/7226634966> ’s

Public Policy Fund!

Double your impact! Tweet, Facebook, and forward this action alert to

friends and family.

<http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/JIYGQKZSNY/DDVMQKZSOM/7226634966> Follow AAUW

on Twitter, and read our award-winning

<http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/JIYGQKZSNY/KYLXQKZSON/7226634966> AAUW Dialog

Blog for discussion, information, and advocacy for women and girls!

General AAUW questions? Please contact connect@aauw.org or call 800/326-2289

between 10 am and 5 pm Eastern, Monday through Friday.

AAUW Breaking through Barriers

<http://ffs.capwiz.com/aauw/images/banner-footer.gif>

If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us, or you wish to update your

contact information, please click here

<http://capwiz.com/aauw/lmx/u/?jobid=195123706&queueid=7226634966> .

 

 <http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/i1/JIYGQKZSNY/7226634966/img/capwizlogo.gif>