Newman University President speaks out on contraception rules

February 08, 2012|By Melissa Scheffler & Chris Durden | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WICHITA, Kan.) — A letter from Newman University to the White House. "I don't know if he's going to read it or not,” University President Noreen Carrocci said.

Carrocci sent her first letter ever to a U.S. president Monday. She's upset over the Obama administration's policy requiring church-affiliated employers to provide employees with contraceptives, the morning-after pill, and sterilization.

"We do not provide that in our health insurance,” Carrocci said.

That's because those services go against Catholic beliefs. Churches do not have to follow the healthcare requirement. But it applies to religious-affiliated institutions like charities, hospitals, and colleges.

"We think we have the right to decide what we do and don't provide,” Carrocci said.

Twenty-eight states require insurance coverage of birth control. Of those, 20 have exemptions for religious employers and insurers. Kansas is not one of the 28 states. Eight states have no exemption – so Catholic employers in Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin must provide contraception coverage.

Via Christi is another employer impacted by the decision. It's part of the Catholic Health Association. In a statement, it says it "... concurs with the Catholic Health Association’s concern and disappointment that the definition of a religious employer was not broadened."

"Women often enter into employment with any particular organization with the belief that religious ideology will not interfere with their healthcare decision making,” Kari Ann Rinker of the Kansas National Organization for Women said.

Rinker says if the Obama administration doesn't follow through on this mandate, it will take-away the individual rights of women.

"Providing women with birth control is preventive care. [It’s] no different than providing pap smears or breast exams,” Rinker said.

Studies show a majority of Catholic women who have been sexually active have used birth control. A poll by the Public Religion Research Institute finds 58% of Catholics believe employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception. That's greater than the 55% of all Americans who believe it should be required.

But Carrocci says religious rights are in jeopardy. "I don't think it will be found constitutional,” Carrocci said.

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