Melinda Gates Takes on the Vatican

The philanthropist and practicing Catholic gave an interview to the Guardian about a Gates-funded study which found that giving women access to contraception could cut the maternal death rate in developing countries by a third. On the slight contraction between her own conviction and the teachings of her Church:

Speaking with Joanna Moorhead, she traded platitudinous conference-talk for a soul-searching discussion of what it means to be a thinking female Catholic in 2012. Gates said that she had “wrestled” with the decision to speak out against the church, but that her conscience necessitated dissent. “As a Catholic I believe in this religion, there are amazing things about this religion, amazing moral teachings that I do believe in, but I also have to think about how we keep women alive,” she said. “I believe in not letting women die.” She continued, “A church is made up of its members, and one of the things this campaign might do is help women speak out. I’ve had thousands of women come on to websites and say ‘I’m a Catholic, but I believe in contraception.’ It’s going to be women voting with their feet.”