birth control news stories on Newser

Catholics File Flood of Birth-Control Lawsuits

Rob Quinn — Tue, 22 May 2012 05:26:04 CDT

Notre Dame's lawsuit yesterday was just the beginning, because America's Catholic bishops have turned en masse to the courts in an attempt to ensure that employees of Catholic institutions do not have health plans that cover birth control. Some 43 Catholic dioceses, schools, social service agencies, and other institutions filed...

Notre Dame Sues Over Obama Birth Control Mandate

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:43:48 CDT

More trouble for the Obama administration's mandate requiring most employers to cover birth control: Now the University of Notre Dame is suing, the AP reports, claiming that the mandate violates religious freedom. Observers had been waiting to see what step Notre Dame would take as the US' most prominent Roman...

Catholic School Yanks Student Health Plan

Kevin Spak — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:20:00 CDT

The Franciscan University of Steubenville has decided to discontinue its entire student health insurance plan as a way to duck the Obama administration's contraceptives mandate . While a number of Catholic institutions have protested the mandate , the Ohio school is the first to actually drop its coverage, the Huffington Post reports....

Kate Beckinsale: I Want GOP in My ...

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:57:45 CDT

What’s this about the Republicans waging a War on Women? Some women actually want nothing more than for the GOP to get all up in their business, argues Kate Beckinsale in a new Funny or Die video that is quite liberal in its use of the word “vagina.” Beckinsale, joined...

Women Overrate the Pill, Condoms

John Johnson — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:24:26 CDT

Women tend to think that birth control pills and condoms are more effective than they actually are, say the authors of a new study. What's more, when women learn about the full range of options of available, they're far more likely to choose an IUD or a contraceptive implant, reports...

Poverty Groups With Gay Ties Lose Catholic Funding

Kevin Spak — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:05:05 CDT

For years, Compañeros, a small nonprofit that helps Hispanic immigrants in Colorado, has relied on thousands in funding from the Catholic Church's Campaign for Human Development. But now the Campaign is considering yanking that money, after noticing that Compañeros is a member of an immigrant rights coalition that had ties...

Birth Control Advocates' Weapon: Knitted Uterus

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:21:05 CDT

Critics of an Arizona proposal to limit birth control coverage have given a personalized gift to more than a dozen state lawmakers—a fuzzy, knitted uterus with googly eyes. The packages were delivered yesterday, each in a clear plastic bag labeled with a legislator's name and containing a letter from...

One Month Later, Rush Limbaugh Sitting Pretty

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:58:37 CDT

Remember all the outrage, the advertiser exodus , the calls for Rush Limbaugh to be permanently taken off the air after he called birth control advocate Sandra Fluke a slut ? Well, one month on, all that appears to be in the past. In the past two weeks, just one additional...

19% of Pharmacies to 17-Year-Olds: No Plan B

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:41:26 CDT

Pharmacies are required by law to provide over-the-counter emergency contraception to 17-year-olds without a prescription, but a new study in Pediatrics journal found that one out of five drugstores does not comply. Boston University researchers contacted all the pharmacies (943 total) in five big cities twice, posing as a 17-year-old...