THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014
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PAGE 5
BURWELL V. HOBBY LOBBY
Gynecologist explains contraceptives
KRISTA MONTGOMERY
news@kansan.com
According to Hobbylobbycase.com, a website set up by Hobby Lobby and The Becket Fund about the craft store's Supreme Court Case, the owners and their business have no objection to and will provide coverage for 16 FDA-approved contraceptives.
However, Hobby Lobby won't provide coverage for four contraception methods that claim "interfere with the implantation of a fertilized egg."
The drugs and devices are two types of intrauterine devices, copper and progestin IUDs, and two types of emergency contraception: the Plan B pill and Ella.
The website says that "providing these objectionable drugs and devices violates the deeply held religious convictions of the [owners] . . . that life begins at conception."
The continuing debate, a result of the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing Hobby Lobby to refuse medical coverage of these types of contraceptives, hinges over two primary issues: religious freedom, and the definition of conception. Hobby Lobby, like many religious organizations, believes that life begins at conception and that any intentional interference after that conception is abortion.
Carolyn DeSalvo, a gynecologist at Watkins Memorial Health Center, has been inserting IUDs for patients for nine years. DeSalvo said she was inserting one per week; she now inserts an average of five per week. She partially credits the increase to the fact that student health insurance has offered full coverage for IUDs for a year.
Occasionally, DeSalvo will need to explain how a contraceptive works to a patient concerned there might be a possibility of ending an already conceived pregnancy.
The IUD prevents pregnancy, DeSalvo said, by first thickening the cervical mucus and then by thinning the uterine lining, making it almost impossible for the sperm to reach the endometrial cavity. In the very rare
case that fertilization occurs, the final mechanism of the IUD is to prevent implantation.
"If you believe that life begins at conception, there is a very remote possibility that you would be aborting that pregnancy," DeSalvo said. "So if you're not comfortable with that, then you shouldn't use that as a method. It's certainly a personal choice."
Emergency contraception is the other type not supported by Hobby Lobby. DeSalvo occasionally prescribes it to patients for insurance purposes and said she's very comfortable doing so.
"It does not cause abortion. It prevents ovulation." DeSalvo said. "It will not interrupt a pregnancy that's in place, it just doesn't work that way."
Todd McHugh, a second year pharmacy student at the University, also said Plan B prevents egg fertilization, not the implantation of an already fertilized egg.
"I can kind of see some of [Hobby Lobby's] point of views because I'm Catholic myself," McHugh said. "But at the same time I've kind of learned how things work. But to just a regular Catholic, if you're going to come up to them and say you're taking the morning after pill, they'll probably think that the egg's already fertilized. They don't realize that it can take three days for that to happen."
In the end, DeSalvo said she believes the contraception decision is Hobby Lobby's choice.
"I think the bottom line is that you have to be respectful of people's beliefs," DeSalvo said. "Gently and
CONTRACEPTIVES NOT COVERED BY HOBBY LOBBY
sed into the uterus by a healthcare provider to prevent pregnancy, the T-shaped vice contains progestin and lasts from three to five years. Fertility isn't affected when the IUD is removed. The IUD with progestin thins the lining of the uterus and may thicken the mucus of the cervix, making it harder for sperm to get to the egg.
IUD WITH PROGESTIN
COPPER IUD
Placed into the uterus by a healthcare provider to prevent pregnancy, the T-shaped device contains copper and lasts up to 10 years. Fertility isn't affected when the IUD is removed. The Copper IUD prevents sperm from fertilizing the egg and may prevent the egg from implanting in the womb. It does not prevent ovulation.
ELLA
Taken within five days of unprotected sex. Pills block the hormone progesterone and work primarily by stopping or delaying the ovaries from releasing an egg. It may also work by changing the lining of the womb and preventing implantation. A prescription is needed to obtain Ella.
PLAN B PILL (Plan B One-Step and Next Choice)
Information from FDA.gov
Edited by Emma LeGault
taken within three days after unprotected sex. Pills contain the hormone progestin and work primarily by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary. It may also work by preventing fertilization of an egg or by preventing implantation to the womb. Pills do not need to be prescribed for those over the age of 17 years and are available over-the-counter at most pharmacies.
tactfully educate them, and then if you don't feel comfortable, it's your choice."
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