N o vem b er 3, 2010
^ortlanh (Dbserucr
Page 19
No Cost Birth Control on Horizon
Benefit could
come with new
health care law
(AP) - Fifty years after the pill,
another birth control revolution may
be on the horizon: free contracep­
tion for women, thanks to the new
health care law.
That could start a shift toward
more reliable — and expensive —
forms of birth control.
A panel of experts advising the
government meets this month to
begin considering what kind of pre­
ventive care for women should be
covered at no cost to the patient, as
required under President Barack
Obama's overhaul.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.,
author of the women's health amend­
ment, says the clear intent was to
include family planning.
But is birth control preventive
medicine?
Conflicting answers frame what
could be the next clash over moral
values and a health law that passed
only after a difficult compromise
restricting the use of public money
for abortions.
For many medical and public
health experts, there's no debate.
"There is clear and incontrovert-
ible evidence that family planning
saves lives and improves health,"
said obstetrician-gynecologist Dr.
David Grimes, an international fam-
ily planning expert who teaches
medicine at the University of North
Carolina. "Contraception rivals im-
munization in dollars saved for ev-
ery dollar invested. Spacing out
children allows for optimal preg-
nancies and optimal child rearing,
Contraception is a prototype of pre-
ventive medicine."
But U.S. Catholic bishops say
pregnancy is a healthy condition,
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A birth control pill container designed to look like a woman's makeup
compact is displayed at the manufacturer's assembly line.
not an illness. In comments filed
with the Department of Health and
Human Services, the bishops say
they oppose any requirement to
cover contraceptives or sterilization
as preventive care.
"We don't consider it to be health
care, but a lifestyle choice," said
John Haas, president of the Na-
tional Catholic Bioethics Center, a
Philadelphia think tank whose work
reflects church teachings. "We think
there are other ways to avoid hav-
ing children than by ingesting chemi-
cals paid for by health insurance."
As recently as the 1990s, many
health insurance plans didn't even
cover birth control. Protests, court
cases, and new state laws led to
dramatic changes. Today, almost all
plans now cover prescription con-
traceptives. So does Medicaid, the
health care program for low-income
people.
DE LA SALLE NORTH
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
*
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14 de n o v ie m b re de 2 010 1 :0 0 P .M .— 4 :0 0 P .M .
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Alcohol Most Harmful Drug
(AP) - Alcohol is more danger­
ous than illegal drugs like heroin
and crack cocaine, according to a
new study.
British experts evaluated sub­
stances including alcohol, cocaine,
heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, rank­
ing them based on how destructive
they are to the individual who takes
them and to society as a whole.
Researchers analyzed how ad­
dictive a drug is and how it harms
the human body, in addition to other
criteria like environmental damage
caused by the drug, its role in break­
ing up families and its economic
costs, such as health care, social
services, and prison.
Heroin, crack cocaine and meth­
amphetamine, or crystal meth, were
the most lethal to individuals. When
considering their wider social ef­
fects, alcohol, heroin and crack co­
caine were the deadliest. But over­
all, alcohol outranked all other sub­
stances, followed by heroin and
crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy
and LSD scored far lower.
Experts said alcohol scored so
high because it is so widely used
and has devastating consequences
not only for the general public.
When drunk in excess, alcohol
damages nearly all organ systems.
It is also connected to higher death
rates and is involved in a greater
percentage of crime than most other
drugs, including heroin.
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