Are Employers restricting nurse's equal access to contraception?

[CAB1RN]

For our colleagues, for our daughters, nurses need to speak out! Equal access to contraception should not be based on the political or religious views of an employer! Give your employer your feedback on this important issue.
Especially for those of us who are nurses working within the healthcare industry, we CAN influence this issue. Speak out now for women's contraceptive rights.

[jayne1975]

The argument about contraceptive choices for women has nothing to do with a woman's rights. A woman still has the right to chose whether or not she uses prescriptive contraceptives for whatever reason. You don't have to use the insurance provided by your employer if they don't provide services to you that you want/need. If you have to pay more out of pocket for those services is the issue many people have but no one is forcing you to choose their business or their insurance. Why would you force YOUR beliefs on an institution who opposes them? Just because its something you want, the hospital or place of business where you're employed shouldn't have to provide them if it is against their religious doctrines. You CHOOSE to work for those people, you CHOOSE your insurance, you CHOOSE whether or not you use contraception. There is nothing that says you can't use or be prescribed those things by physicians. The freedom for you is the choice you have in deciding who you want to be employed with... and the choices you make in providers and prescriptions.

[GitanoRN]

Unquestionably, it's a matter of personal CHOICE...period!

[Ellekat]

There are more concerns than a woman's right to choose. Women who are patients (not always by choice) cannot have access to contraceptive pills if they didn't bring them and also don't have them listed on their medication reconciliation lists,so the pharmacist and physician may be unaware of what she's taking. We had an eleven-year-old who needed an IV medication to stop bleeding that the hospital deemed a form of contraceptive-had to ship her to another hospital that would give her care or let her continue to bleed. If you have cystic acne and are female insurance won't pay for treatment that uses any form of medication used in birth control, or requires birth control when you use it (I've forgotten the name, but there is an injection for cystic acne that by federal protocol requires two forms of birth control because of potential harm to a fetus). Hysterectomy? Better have a good reason! This isn't really about contraception, it's about two things-one is control over medical treatment for women, the other is how much money an organization that hires primarily women can save by not providing medical care that applies only to women. Interestingly, our suddenly very religious hospital doesn't consider Easter or Good Friday holidays. But it wants to make sure it doesn't shell out a few dollars and let the employee choose something against its Christian beliefs.