Obama Announces New Preventative Care Measures Aimed at Women

The Obama administration has announced a number of preventative care measures that health insurance companies will be required to cover under the new health care laws.  Among them are several that affect women.  According to a press release from the US Department of Health and Human Services, the measures include:

• well-woman visits;
• screening for gestational diabetes;
• human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing for women 30 years and older;
• sexually-transmitted infection counseling;
• human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and counseling;
• FDA-approved contraception methods and contraceptive counseling;
• breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling; and
• domestic violence screening and counseling.

Religious institutions that offer health insurance to their employees will have the option of whether to cover birth control, citing the Constitutional precedents of religious accommodation.