Jeff Adams (Letters, March 3) thinks the Catholic Church should be  permitted to forbid insurance companies to include contraceptives in basic health care coverage to its employees. He thinks not giving the church that right is anti-Catholic and anti-Christian, even though many of the  employees are not Catholic and would be deprived of this coverage because of someone else’s religious beliefs.

Mr. Adams thinks women don’t need contraceptives, and if they want them, they can afford them. He doesn’t know (or ignores) the fact that some women do need certain of them for purposes other than contraception, and that not everyone who needs them can afford them. Sandra Fluke testified that a woman she knows lost an ovary because she could not afford the $3,000 the pills would have cost her.

Mr. Adams doesn’t know (or ignores) the fact that insurance companies save money by covering contraceptives, since contraception costs far less than pregnancy and maternity.

How far would Mr. Adams go in protecting the right of religion to determine basic coverage? Should Jehovah’s Witnesses be permitted to exclude coverage for vaccinations, surgery and blood transfusions? Should Christian Scientists be permitted to wipe out health insurance coverage altogether?

Ann Adams

Oak Harbor