Read a Feb. 24, 2012, Washington Post op-ed column about the Catholic Church and birth control. It’s by historian Elaine Tyler May, author of America + the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril and Liberation.

Read a Feb. 28, 2012, New York Times article about how Democrats are welcoming the focus on contraception.

Read a Feb. 28, 2012, EWTN News/CNA article in which Chicago Cardinal Francis George says the Catholic Church may be forced to halt its work in the public square, such as in hospitals and universities, because of the contraception coverage mandate.

An August 2011 Guttmacher report outlines increasing disparities between the rich and the poor in rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion.

A Guttmacher Institute study found that 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women in the U.S. have used a birth control method not sanctioned by the church. The full report, titled “Countering Conventional Wisdom: New Evidence on Religion and Contraceptive Use,” provides numerous other religion-related statistics, as well.

Singer Amy Winehouse died unexpectedly on July 23, 2011, at age 27. Read an obituary from The Guardian.

Read a Feb. 11, 2012, roundup of reactions to Whitney Houston’s death. It is posted by News One.

Whitney Houston died unexpectedly on February 11, 2012. Read an obituary from The Guardian.

Michael McBride is an associate professor of economics at the University of California, Irvine. He specializes in religion and the economy and writes the blog The Religious Marketplace.