Birth control should not be exempt in coverage

As a nurse at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and a patient advocate for women's health care, I have seen first hand the need for health care reform. I know that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has given many women the chance to obtain care.

My health care colleagues see women coming in for mammograms and well women's visits who are no longer paying more for the same insurance coverage thanks to this law. However, the fight isn't over. The Supreme Court is hearing a case on March 25 that will decide whether or not an employer can deny birth control coverage based on religious beliefs.

According to a study by the Center for Disease Control in 2010, 99 percent of sexually active women use a form of birth control at some time. It makes no sense to exempt birth control from insurance coverage. This policy does not have any religious underpinning; it's simply sound health policy.

Allowing your employer to make decisions about whether or not you can have access to birth control is a bad prescription for health care.

Becky Leaven

Iowa City