From Dr. Jennifer H. Tang, a gynecologist in Chapel Hill and a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health:

As a gynecologist practicing in North Carolina, I see patients for whom birth control is life-saving preventive care. The Observer's Jan. 24 editorial "With Contraception, an Uneven Exemption" suggests that my patients deserve insurance that covers their medical needs only if their employers' religion agrees.

I think of my patient Rebecca, who was recently married and wanted to start a family. However, she has a genetic condition that weakens her blood vessels and caused a stroke when she was young. Multiple doctors counseled her that a pregnancy could further damage her blood vessels and kill her. Rebecca and I decided on an intrauterine device (IUD) as a long-lasting, highly effective contraceptive that would protect her against the life-threatening risks of pregnancy.

Because Rebecca's insurance plan included birth control, most of the $913 IUD device and insertion fee was covered. But I have other patients whose health is at risk because their employers refused contraception coverage. These women can't afford such high upfront costs out of pocket.

I am thrilled that the new insurance rules will bring relief to most women whose employers don't provide birth control coverage. Everyone deserves this essential option, including women who work for religiously affiliated universities and hospitals. Indeed, many faith-based institutions already offer this coverage.

Misguided attacks by Catholic bishops

In his attack on the birth control rules, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has gone so far as to claim "the contraceptives mandated as 'preventive services' [to be covered by employers] will include abortifacients." This is false. Contraceptives prevent pregnancies. They do not end them. Otherwise, they would be classified as abortifacients, not contraceptives.

While the Conference rails against covering birth control, American Catholics are relying on contraception to space pregnancies and delay parenthood until they are ready. In fact, 98 percent of U.S. Catholic women who have had sex have used a birth control method other than natural family planning. For all American women, regardless of their faith, that figure is just one point higher at 99 percent.

Meanwhile, Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida, has vowed that he will drop health insurance coverage for diocesan employees rather than comply with the new rules. It disturbs me that an employer would deny all of his employees health insurance just to avoid covering a woman's preventive health needs.

Most of my patients will benefit from the new contraception regulation, but a few will be left behind, due to the remaining exemption for certain faith-based institutions. I look forward to the day when every employer understands that women need a full range of preventive health services, including birth control, to have healthy and productive lives.