Family Life

08.03.12 | Sarah Harnisch

A new part of President Obama's Affordable Care Act went into effect on this week. It allows women across the country to get free birth control. It's already affecting business in Pennsylvania. Planned Parenthood in Pennsylvania's capitol of Harrisburg sees 5-thousand women a year. They say "99-percent of women use birth control in their lifetime. And for some women, the costs have been prohibitive." Amy Hill with Pennsylvania's Catholic Conference says "pregnancy is not a disease. Therefore, it's hard for us to see it as classified as preventative services. It's saying violate your religious beliefs, or violate the law-- which is not a position anybody wants to be in." Hill says this means Christian hospitals, non profits, colleges, and small businesses have to provide contraception to their employees, and there are many employees who would willingly take free contraceptives. She says "you don't have to be Catholic to be a nurse, a receptionist, or a janitor at a Catholic hospital, and you certainly don't have to be Catholic to recieve services there." Religious organizations have been given a year to comply, but Christian groups in the state say a year doesn't make it any easier to defy biblical values.