Protection: the gravest no-no?

The Catholic Church reacted strongly yesterday to a White House defense of new rules that will force many religious employers in America to provide contraception to their workers in government-mandated health insurance plans. "The White House information about this is a combination of misleading and wrong," said Anthony Picarello, general counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He said the bishops would "pursue every legal mandate available to them to bring an end to this mandate. That means legislation, litigation, and public advocacy. All options are on the table." What the bishops haven't realised is that contraception stops unwanted pregnancies, and many forms can also stop the spread of diseases like gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia, and HIV. Also, the rules could be made better: religious institutions can qualify for an exemption if the services violate their beliefs, but not if they employ large numbers of people who do not share those beliefs. That should be taken out because if you're an employer, you have a responsibility to insure employees' health, and this includes helping them with covering up their nether-regions before they get it on.