Letter to the editor: Wrong stance on contraception demeans us all

     As clergy and religious leaders, we are dismayed that anyone in our country -- including religious institutions -- would resent being asked to provide preventive health care in the form of contraception. In an enlightened society, women (nearly all of whom use contraception at some point in their lives), and the men who love them, choose to use the gift of their sexuality in a responsible way. All who support them in that effort value the lives of women, and their ability to make moral choices regarding when, or whether, to have children.
     According to the Guttmacher Institute, “In 2009, nearly half of U.S. women aged 18-34 said that as a result of the recession, they wanted to delay pregnancy or limit the number of children they had. But for many women, economic hardship meant having to skimp on their contraceptive use -- for example, by skipping pills, shifting to a less expensive method or not using birth control at all -- in order to save money.”
     Women are the ones most directly impacted by lack of access to contraception, but men's lives are changed as well. And when contraception is seen as qualitatively different from other forms of preventive care, it demeans all of us.

The Rev. Jeri Gray-Reneberg

St. Francis' Episcopal Church, Fortuna

The Rev. Sara Potter

St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Arcata

Bette Mayim-Paz Humboldt Faith Equality

Carol Scher

Member, Clergy for Choice

Rabbi Naomi Steinberg

Temple Beth-El

Nancy Dye

Convener, Clergy for Choice

Scott Sattler, MD

Universal Sufism

The Rev. Cindy Storrs

Arcata United Methodist Church