WASHINGTON (ABP) -- Religious leaders on both sides of the abortion
debate called on Congress to include free birth control as a component
in health-care reform.
Responding to an Institute of Medicine
panel considering whether contraception should be classified in
health-reform legislation as a preventive service that insurance
companies must cover without a co-payment, the religious leaders
endorsed the idea as a common-ground approach to reducing abortion.
"Inclusion of contraception in preventive services guidelines will be a
critical victory for common ground on abortion, demonstrating that those
who disagree on the legality of abortion can agree that we ought to
prevent unintended pregnancies," said David Gushee, a Mercer University
professor and co-founder of the New Evangelical Partnership for the
Common Good.
