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WEKU
WEKU
Maria Godoy

Catholic health care's wide reach can make it hard to get birth control in many places

Catholic health care systems can limit access to birth control. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

Last week, students returning to campus at Oberlin College in Ohio got a shock: A local news outlet reported that the campus' student health services would severely limit who could get contraception prescriptions. They would only be given to treat health problems — not for the purpose of preventing pregnancy — and emergency contraception would only be available to victims of sexual assault.

It turned out the college had outsourced its student health services to a Catholic health agency – and like other Catholic health institutions, it follows religious directives that prohibit contraception to prevent pregnancy. They also prohibit gender-affirming care.

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