I am now considering an addition to my career: becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife. This would enable me to deliver babies in homes, birthing centers and hospitals. However, I am very concerned about the new legislation, passed by the Obama administration last week, which makes it mandantory for insurance companies to pay for abortions and contraception, and erases the conscience protections I currently have as a practicing and devout Roman Catholic, 1) to not refer women for abortions or perform abortions and 2) to not prescribe contraception.
Right now, in my job, as a Student Health NP at TTU, I pretty much HAVE to prescribe birth control, and that is a very sticky issue for me. Personally I try as hard as I can to talk the girls out of it. I tell them how unnatural it is to suppress their normal hormones. I tell them about the very real increase in breast cancer risk, infection risk (especially yeast and bacterial infections) and the miscarriage and abortion risk if they get pregnant while on the pill or other methods (which happens a LOT). If they are Catholic I ask why they are considering contraception in the first place?
These new laws take effect August 1, 2012, shortly before I will be entering the Nurse Midwifery Program. Will I be required to learn to do abortions and prescribe abortaficents like RU 486? Will I be mandated to assist or perform when babies die in the womb naturally?
If I am required to do these things, there is no way I can become a midwife. It is very interesting to note that, the roots of midwifery in Texas all began with Catholic nursing Sisters in the border areas who wanted to provide health care for the poor immigrant women they served. EVERY beginning nurse midwife in Texas going back to the 1950s and even earlier, was a Catholic sister....NOT a Feminazi who wanted to provide abortions! these Sisters would roll over in some of their graves, to learn what women's health has become.
Pray for me, that my venture into assisting LIFE into the world, can happen without any further participation in the culture of death!
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