birth control
Trump, unlikely religious favorite, hails Christian values
By Jerome Socolovsky — October 13, 2017
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump assured a high-profile gathering of Christian conservatives that his administration will defend religious organizations, promising a return to traditional American values.
Critics: Trump’s religious exemption on birth control ignores science
By Lauren Markoe — October 11, 2017
(AP) — Although the regulations ultimately address matters of individual conscience and religious teaching, they also dive into medical research and scholarly studies on birth control.
Religious objection order gives broad leeway to employers to drop birth control coverage
By guest — October 6, 2017
(USA Today) — The new rules allow any employer or insurer to stop covering contraceptive services if it has religious beliefs or moral convictions against covering birth control.
Why religious liberty trumps free birth control
By Jacob Lupfer — June 1, 2017
(RNS) People should not be compelled by the state to violate their consciences. That’s what religious freedom means, and it is a foundational American value.
Trump administration reversing Obamacare’s birth control mandate
By Richard Wolf — May 31, 2017
WASHINGTON (USA Today) Once the final rule is implemented, women's groups say it will be up to the states — and possibly the courts — to protect insurance coverage for contraceptives.
Religious groups try to sway Supreme Court in birth control case
By Lauren Markoe — March 22, 2016
(RNS)More than 40 groups, many faith-based, filed friend-of-the-court briefs opposing the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act.
The ‘Splainer: Did Pope Francis revise church teaching on birth control?
By Kimberly Winston — February 18, 2016
(RNS) The Catholic Church recognizes that there are times in married life when having children may not be the best thing for the family due to financial strain, illness, or other difficulties.
Despite the odds, one doctor promotes family planning in Muslim Nigeria
By Fredrick Nzwili — October 19, 2015
(RNS) For 10 years, Dr. Farouk Mohammed Jega, 45,has been championing evidence-based arguments to try to persuade clerics in Northern Nigeria that Islam supports family planning methods.
Bishops admit: We don’t know much about sex, need married advisers
By Rosie Scammell — October 16, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Fourteen married couples and other lay people have been brought in to fill the gaps in the churchmen's knowledge, advising the 270 bishops as they discuss family issues.
Arkansas governor cuts state contracts with Planned Parenthood
By Reuters — August 15, 2015
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson canceled the state's contracts with Planned Parenthood, making his the third Southern state to do so since anti-abortion activists released videos that they say suggests the organization sells fetal tissue.
A mama knows best, so let’s let her decide (COMMENTARY)
By Rachel Held Evans — May 7, 2015
(RNS) We cannot allow simplistic, self-focused narratives about contraception and family planning to keep us from helping women who, really, aren't much different from us.
Days after ‘rabbits’ remark, pope praises big families
By John Bacon — January 21, 2015
(RNS) "It provides us with consolation and hope to see so many large families who welcome children as a gift from God," the pope said.
Don’t breed ‘like rabbits’: Was Pope Francis breaking new ground on birth control?
By David Gibson — January 20, 2015
(RNS) As Pope Francis often does, he is shifting the focus from the “rules” to the principle behind the rules, even on such closed-book issues as birth control.
Kenya’s Catholic bishops: Tetanus vaccine is birth control in disguise
By Fredrick Nzwili — November 11, 2014
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) Catholic bishops said they had tested the vaccine privately and were shocked to find it was laced with a birth control hormone called beta human chorionic gonadotropin.
Pope Paul VI is almost a saint: Here are 4 of his biggest legacies
By David Gibson — October 16, 2014
(RNS) Pope Francis has beatified his controversial predecessor, Paul VI, whom he hails for groundbreaking reforms that are often overlooked. But can Francis succeed where Paul fell short?
