In concentrated form, female hormones are expensive and must be given by injection. But they also exist in readily available and relatively inexpensive pill form. I refer to birth control pills. The bishop just has to order each priest to take a pill each morning, or, if a physician so advises, each evening.
Doctors often prescribe drugs for preventive or prophylactic use: fluoride treatments for children unusually prone to tooth decay; anti-malarial or anti-tuberculosis drugs for people who are unusually exposed to these diseases; and potassium iodide, which is given to people who work with radioactive iodine to prevent this more powerful chemical from damaging their thyroid glands. When properly prescribed, insurance companies usually pay for prophylactic treatment. The bishop can save a great deal of money by making sure that he buys his employees an insurance policy that covers birth control pills. For priests alone, of course. He can't let the pills prevent births; that would be immoral. He now has a reason--a badly needed one--for objecting to the ordination of women priests.
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