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You have decided on an intrauterine device (IUD) to prevent pregnancy. Or you are a transgender man and need hormone therapy, or a lesbian who wants to start a family. You check with your health insurance; the services are covered. But if the only clinicians (doctor, nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, physician assistant) in your area participate in a Catholic-sponsored healthcare network, your choices for sexual and reproductive healthcare — pregnancy planning or prevention, treatment of miscarriage or unintended pregnancy, use of hormones for transgendered people — may be restricted.
This is not as unlikely as it may sound. The number of Catholic-owned or affiliated hospitals has increased over the past 20 years. In some communities, most …