family planning

The Hobby Lobby case may not affect Maryland directly, but the next governor's views on women's reproductive health matter.

Asking employers to pay for contraception makes it their business, along with the business of taxpayers and a bunch of bureaucrats in Washington.

With Hobby Lobby decision, extremist views are now mainstream

Hobby Lobby decision is about denying women health care

Majority opinion in contraceptive case correctly upheld religious faith

At Planned Parenthood of Maryland, we are deeply troubled by the roll-back in access to reproductive care that the court's decisions represent. Bosses are now able to interfere with their employees' access to birth control. Picketers can continue to harass women seeking care including birth control, breast health exams and the many life-saving services that women's health centers provide. It is hard to believe that in 2014 we are still struggling to provide women even the most basic health care

Allowing for-profit companies to opt out of contraceptive mandate sets troubling precedent that extends religion's reach and diminishes individual rights

Gov. Martin O'Malley sharply criticized Monday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that certain corporations can cite religious grounds in refusing to pay for employee's contraception coverage.

Catholic bishops overstep their authority

Whose freedom are the bishops protecting in their 'Fortnight for Freedom'?

A network of Catholic employers is exempted from the federal government's requirement to provide free contraceptive coverage for workers, a federal court has ruled.

Each of the three Democratic gubernatorial candidates glossed over some details voters should know more about.

Planned Parenthood to upgrade technology with $200,000 grant from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. may have some valid complaints about the Democrats, but he gives Republicans a free pass.

As staunch advocates of patient rights, Planned Parenthood of Maryland led the successful campaign for passage of Senate bill 790, which closes a wide gap in confidentiality laws to help protect the privacy of health care information for all Maryland women and families.

Absurd thinking

Hobby Lobby should not have to foot the bill for contraceptives

Women believe it's wrong for the federal government to force companies to pay for contraception or to suggest religious Americans are irrational

As a springtime snowfall dampened their signs if not their spirits, several hundred activists divided themselves Tuesday on either side of the plaza in front of the Supreme Court to make their own opening arguments over the Affordable Care Act.

Should Supreme Court rule religious 'rights' of corporations hold sway, discrimination likely to extend beyond access to contraception

A Catonsville-based group of nuns that on Monday filed an appeal in a case centered on the federal health care law's requirement to provide contraceptive coverage for employees.

Removing barriers to contraception

Little Sisters of the Poor have legitimate concerns about how health reform law calls on them to violate their own faith

The Catonsville-based religious group, Little Sisters of the Poor, is among the employers who are fighting the Affordable Care Act's provision requiring employee health insurance plans to cover contraceptives. This, after Pope Francis himself signaled a desire to step back from the culture wars.

The U.S. government asked the Supreme Court on Friday not to allow Roman Catholic-affiliated groups a temporary exemption from a part of the Obamacare health care law that requires employers to provide insurance policies covering contraception.

The Affordable Care Act allows Catonsville's Little Sisters of the Poor to avoid subsidizing their employees' birth control in a way that respects both the rights of the nuns and those who work for them.

A Roman Catholic order of nuns who care for the elderly poor was hopeful Wednesday after the Supreme Court temporarily blocked an Obamacare provision that would have required it to cover contraception for employees starting with the new year.

A group of Catonsville nuns who claimed that the new federal health care law's contraceptive coverage requirement would violate their religious beliefs are actually exempt from the mandate, a U.S. District Court judge concluded Friday.

Planned Parenthood supports Md.'s efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act.

While there will no doubt be finger pointing as the public continues to learn about the state's botched rollout of the Affordable Care Act, there can also be no doubt about who was responsible for leading the effort: Lt. Governor Anthony Brown.

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to jump into a growing legal dispute between businesses run by conservative Christians and the Obama administration over whether a company must pay for birth control drugs that conflict with its owner's religious beliefs.

The nation's top Catholic bishops will convene this week in Baltimore to choose a new leader, a decision that will help set the course for an American church striving to build its appeal while grappling with stances on immigration and contraception coverage.

Participation in Sunday morning's Komen Maryland Race for the Cure dipped from last year, the second time in as many outings that the signature fundraising event for cancer research has experienced such declines.

Maryland received a new No. 1 title for Gov. Martin O'Malley to crow about Wednesday as the Center for American Progress ranked its the best of the 50 states for women.

In an extraordinary, wide-ranging interview, Pope Francis expressed frustration that the Catholic Church is ¿obsessed¿ with issues such as abortion, homosexuality and contraception, and called instead for a focus on healing and mercy.

Planned pregnancies will help reduce Maryland's infant mortality rate further.