Big Government

Many of you who are reading this are Catholic, so you already know that the Catholic Church condemns the use of anything other than natural family planning. However, the majority of people in the United States are not Catholic and rely on other methods. Should they be subject to the Pope’s edict, even though they are not Catholic? The Wall Street Journal reported on July 31 that the Bush administration is drafting a regulation with a definition of pregnancy that has the effect of classifying most birth control pills and IUDs as abortion. The draft regulation, circulating within the Department of Health and Human Services, could undercut dozens of state laws designed to promote easy access to these methods of birth control, used by more than 12 million women a year. If the draft regulation were to prompt some insurance companies to drop coverage for prescription birth control, “that would be fantastic,” said Tom McClusky, a strategist with the conservative Family Research Council. John McCain has declined to comment on the proposal.