Troops, drop your weapons. Surrender. The war is over and it hasn’t even begun.
The war for which I’ve already thrown in the towel is, of course, the war on contraception. Why so eager to raise the white flag? Because the war doesn’t exist. With the exception of some tin foil hat-wearers, no one, and I mean no one, in the conservative movement wants to rid the world of contraception. If you listen to the always-insightful left, however, you’d think our artillery was aimed at the headquarters of Pfizer and Bayer. The simple truth is that nobody on the right cares if you want to pop birth control like skittles or buy condoms by the crate; just don’t make me, or the Catholic Church, pay for it.
At the this point, the issue involving the Catholic church and birth control seems to have been solved. The President was right to walk back his earlier mandate to Catholic organizations that would require them to pay for the birth control of their employees. Such a mandate puts the Catholic church at odds with a major part of their teachings and it violates their religious freedom. Some debate remains as to whether the church is actually in the clear, but I’ll give the President the benefit of the doubt for now. Whether it’s truly been resolved or not, this ordeal still exposes a very valid question: Why did birth control become government mandated right anyway?
That question, which many on the right are asking, is the source of the claims that Republicans are somehow trying to take out contraception altogether. That ridiculous claim is being pushed heavily by many on the left, including Lefty Moonbat Paul Krugman. Krugman is notorious for thinking he knows the intent of Republicans better than Republicans, and has made no bones about what he sees as “the GOP’s war on contraception.” Krugman and others are using this demonization tactic to discredit a very valid point regarding the necessity of birth control. In fact, exhibiting some personal responsibility eliminates the need for birth control in cases where an unwanted pregnancy isn’t the issue. Regardless of how important birth control may be for you personally, it has all of the health necessity of a cough drop. Mandating that insurance providers pay for cough drops sounds ridiculous, and it is. But what’s the difference between paying for that and paying for birth control, which can be cheaply purchased in its most common form and provides an equally non-essential service to overall health? (Krugman, let me save you the trouble of catching my subliminal messaging: Halls, the GOP militia is coming for you next.)
The mandate has another problem: it’s free, for a price. While the President proudly declared in his press conference that birth control would be provided free of charge to all, it’s ridiculous and naive to think that insurance providers are going to offer birth control at the expense of their bottom line. Insurance costs will have to increase for everyone in order to pay for the added services because, despite the Obama Administration’s best efforts to marginalize them, insurance companies are still businesses that must make profits.
Yes, my refusal to accept the birth control bailout makes me a heartless Wall Street Fat Cat Robber Barron War Mongering 1-percenter, and I don’t care. However, let me say that I’m the first to defend worthwhile aid programs, like food stamps, Medicare, and unemployment benefits, albeit for a shorter period (though even these need SERIOUS work). I simply don’t believe that it’s my job, your job, or your momma’s job to pay for anyone else’s birth control. If you disagree, that’s fine; you can protect someone’s sexual escapades on your own dime.
Don’t forget to follow The Dysfunction Junction on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, and sign up for daily e-mail updates for your chance to win one of two $500 Visa Gift Cards. Click HERE to find out more about you can win.
Have a conservative blog? Have your blog included on The Dysfunction Junction’s best conservative blogs list by clicking HERE.
MicMac says:
Perhaps you do not know that many women, young and older, depend upon birth control pills to regulate problem periods, which is a quite common basis for prescribing The Pill. This is especially important for older women during the years wherein we go through “the change.” At that point in our lives we most often are employed, and dealing with this problem is, well, highly problematical in the workplace unless controlled by The Pill. (As a young male, you may think this to not be such a big deal, but the condition is actually very debilitating/humiliating without going into detail. Not at all a “normal” period, more like a sudden hemorrage. Many women at this point of their lives opt for hysterectomies, it is that serious.) You certainly are within your rights to hold opinions as to sexual morality and how BC pills make this easier. But many married women use BC to limit their families so that they can better take care of the children they already have – I would argue that this creates a better quality of life for the children, the mother and the father. Do you also think this a purpose you are not willing to support? Shall we also strike coverage for vasectomies and Viagra while we are at it?
I am all for religious institutions to be accommodated, that clearly comes under the umbrella of Constitutional Rights. But another point you make also betrays a certain lack of understanding – BC is not cheap. I will spare you a run down of the medical bills surrounding various methodologies, but let’s just take The Pill. Depending upon the prescription, it runs about $50 to $80 a month out of pocket. This is a very very big deal to a poor family and lower income Middle Americans. Very big deal.
MicMac says:
One last thing. The right to birth control became mandated in 2000 by the EOCC, just before Bush took office. Two terms under Bush, no challenges. Ashcroft even upheld it. Just sayin. . .
Kent McCarty says:
MicMac, believe it or not I’m very aware of birth control’s usage in these situations. I know at least one person who takes birth control for this reason, and I’m not at all suggesting that insurance providers should stop covering the pill in those cases. It would simply be a matter of having a doctor prescribe it for that purpose.
I don’t care who uses the pill for preventative purposes; that’s not my business. What is my business is where the insurance premium that I (or my parents on my behalf)pay is spent.
As for the cost, the methodology of prevention that I suggested in the original post is far cheaper than the pill and still effective. I’m aware that the method I described won’t do much for the problems you mentioned, but that’s irrelevant because I agree, insurance should cover it in that instance.
Yes, I was aware of the 2000 EOCC ruling and had I not been 7 years old at the time I probably would have said something then, too.
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment– even if we disagree,
Kent
ETA: Ahhh, how could I forget to lambaste coverage of the morning after pill. The only reason I can see any coverage of this is in the case of rape or incest. Otherwise, insurance companies have no business covering this.
MicMac says:
Good response. My motivation here was an attempt to close the gender/age gap, which is central to what we Americans are trying to parse out. This all is a worthy discussion, on both sides. Central to all humanity, and has been argued through recorded history throughout the ages. I would proffer a positive note here that we are all still arguing about these issues, young and old, because they are so important, central to all of our lives. Those of us who thought the issue “settled” after many decades of striving for equal opportunity, must still recognize that these issues do not go away, just because they are “settled,” that there is a new generation looking at what we “accomplished” with new eyes, new arguments, passionately. As a Liberal, I do not have a leg to stand on there, just to urge you onward, even as I disagree with you. God Bless the young. What would we do without you? (I have one son active in OWS, another very Conservative, another who really doesn’t care about politics, he is a firefighter and just puts out fires.) My only advice here, which is non-partisan, is to always keep in the back of your mind that you have not yet met all of the confounding challenges of being human, (nor have I as a mother in my 50s). And when you do, you will be at the bitter end of your life and years, yet dependent upon others in all of your accumulated wisdom. . .I learned this from my Dad and Mom, ushering them through dementia and old age and Medicare/Medicaid, observing what those consequences were after a long and productive life (they were both stone Republicans).
There are no easy answers, just keep your eyes and ears and heart and mind open. There is no fault in being young, in my mind, you are the lifeblood of our country, we depend upon you greatly, to stir things up and keep our feet to the fire. Just keep your eye on the gas pedal, young man, and learn how to drive stick shift. All my kids had to learn how to drive stick shift. Because it is harder.
Kent McCarty says:
Thanks for the kind words of motivation. See, just because we disagree doesn’t mean we can’t act reasonable. Like you said, it’s important to have a dialogue with people who have different backgrounds and views to get a full understanding of the issues. That’s what life’s all about, living and learning.
Kent
Pingback/Trackback
Pros and Cons of Contraception Birth Control Mandate | The Conservative Journal
Mike G. says:
@ MicMac…For older women who need the pill prescribed during Menopuase, Insurance should pay for it. But as Mr. McCarty said, for younger women, there are less expensive alternatives for birth control.
And as a person of the male persuasion, I don’t think Vasectomies or Erectile dysfunction pills should be paid for by insurance companies either. If you’re an older guy like me and you think you need some Viagra or other ED pill, then pull out your wallet and pay for it yourself. And Vasectomies can’t cost that much…heck, I’ll give ‘em out for free, but you might not like the end result.
Kent McCarty says:
Mike, I couldn’t agree more about Viagra and other ED medications. Those two are in the same boat as birth control as things that are far from health necessities.
Thanks for stopping by and joining the discussion,
Kent
Maggie@MaggiesNotebook says:
Birth control, abortion, vasectomies, Viagra, condoms – it’s all free somewhere for those wanting the tax payer to pay for it for them. The issue is that the Government believes I should pay for someone else’s birth control, abortion, vasectomy, Viagra and condoms. I don’t want to do any of the above, unless I do it in private for someone I care about who has a need.
The arrogance of the Sebelius rule is mindboggling. Remember that it was not a part of ObamaCare. It came later under the 361 opportunities given to Sebelius to create her own version of the perfect world.
This is what happens now that Congress routinely abdicates their obligations, as representatives of the people.
Kent, you are right. Contraception is the manufactured issue for Leftists. Even the Catholic Bishops got caught up in it. The issue is the unconstitutional mandate. Thanks for much linking. I’m linking back.
Kent McCarty says:
Spot on; there comes a point when government goodies cross the line, and their position on contraception is a prime example. I have both little desire and little capability to influence what people do in their free time, but by giving away contraceptives to anyone for free, the government is enabling the American people to see how irresponsible they can be.
What’s especially puzzling about Sebelius’ stance is that she’s a practicing Catholic. How would she have been ignorant to the backlash that move would cause?
On Congress, I truly don’t think I sorrier hand has ever been dealt.
That’s what this election is going to have to be all about for President Obama: making distractions. He can’t run on his record and, though the economy looked to be improving, the recent Gallup jobless numbers look like the rise could be short-lived.
Thanks for linking back and stopping by!
Kent
Pingback/Trackback
Sarah Palin: Contraception Boondoggle – Welcome to Government Mandated Health Care | Maggie's Notebook
MicMac says:
Respectfully, Maggie, if you have to pay out of pocket, the cost for most poor or Middle income Americans, whether you are young or old, for these drugs like Viagra? %200 bucks a month or more, out of pocket. BC pills? %50 to 580 bucks a month. You may not be able to envision yourself in your age group as finding these prescriptions as “necessary” but I would bet your father and mother, and a lot of people you know and love, would. And your daughters and sons (if they are brought up right to take responsibilty for their girlfriends and potential wives) would. I have ushered my parents through old age, through a loving marriage, with the knowing that Viagra sustained them, their perfect marriage, in their old age. Would you, in your youth, deprive them of this in their old age? I’m talking 70s 80s here right through the 2000s, when they walked around the block hand in hand in their small town, every night, and went home to make love in whatever way they were able.
Knowing that their daughter had to wrestle with whether or not to have a second child with her husband, after a rare genetic defect brought their grandson into this world.
Would you deprive them, and me, as a mother, birth control, so that I might not give birth to a second child to go through the horrific experience my first child went through? And Viagra, so that these two loving parents husband/wife who brought me up to take such good care of a disabled child, and them, might find such marital and family succor and love in their old age?
Would you deprive me of birth control pills in my 50s to control my periods so that I can do my job competently so that I can earn enough to put my kids through college and not be fired?
I am the mother of three boys and one girl. Their lives, and all of the children and families their lives touch and affect, preys on my mind. Do you accept or are you capable of this burden? Have y0u lived this important condition as you speak? Forgive me, you sound young, unburdened of this sort of challenge.
Life is not simple.
Especially when you put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
I love your passion. Please yoke this to experience and humility. When you are able
Mike G. says:
MicMac, you come off as very condescending. You think it’s a “right” to have free birth control or ED medication so if that’s the case, then it’s my “right” to have a gun and I want your tax dollars to pay for it, just like you want my taxes to pay for your medication…what’s good for the goose is good for the gander as they say, eh?
MicMac says:
I may well seem condescending, as most older people do. Though, I try hard to not be so. It is a handicap. All readers must figure this in. But I am not an idiot. What the frig do guns have to do in this BC factor? I happen to be one of the Liberals who support the right to bear arms, not for individual rights even, but to uphold the US Constitution, for the health and well being of our country. I am happy to meet you any day on the shooting range, and will not worry if you beat me.As long as you try really, really hard, What the heck does that have to do with contraception? Are you a father, a mother, a son, a daughter? Have you ever struggled with this issue, in real time?
Mike G. says:
@MicMac…I’m not quite as young as you think. I have seven Grandchildren. All but one are girls and the oldest will soon be getting her driver’s license. The important thing is that parents and grandparents need to be teaching their kids the difference between right and wrong. The problem is a lot of parents have become so hung up in acquiring all the latest toys for themselves as well as for their kids, that real family time is non existent.
When we were kids, we were expected to do chores as well as any school work we had before going outside to play…we only had four channels on the TV and Mom and Pop decided on what we would watch. We also did family stuff together like camping and hiking, fishing, ect. We also lived in a city that had a tremendous Zoo and museum system, probably the best in the world. Parents today don’t do those kinds of things anymore. Bobby and Suzy are too busy playing video games or texting back and forth to their friends, and Mom and Dad are busy with thier own concerns.
Parents also don’t get involved in their kid’s school activities like they used to, either. Our parents went to all the PTA meetings and talked to the teachers and other parents.
Basically, what it all boils down to is personal responsibility. Teach your kids well and you most likely won’t be disappointed in the choices they make as they grow up to become responsible adults.
I’m not targeting you personally, but am just making a general observation from my experience.
The bottom line is, the government has no business mandating health care, much less mandating that birth control of any kind should be provided for free…someone has to pay for it and I don’t care to, unless it’s for my own kids, in which case I’ll gladly drag out my wallet and pay for it myself.
Jim Prokop says:
The problem is ya can’t have it both ways. Most of you who don’t want to pay for birth control don’t want to pay for abortion either. Ya just want to stop folks form having sex. It isn’t gonna happen in Mississippi or anywhere else.Not withstanding what the bible- thumpers in your region want or say. Kent, you have it partially right. I know you don’t want to pay for it (nor do I) but you have to choose the lesser of the two. The more your Republican cohorts talk about this the more more they will look like fools. Get over it and move on to something important. The fact that guys like Santormum are making this a Presidential issue in 2012 makes the so-called conservatives look like nit-whits. Get over it, move on and accept the fact President Obama probably won this round on a national basis. As far as the Catholic church is concerned…who cares about people who live in the 16th century and protect child molesters.
Kent McCarty says:
Jim, glad to see you join the conversation. Of course, let me start by disagreeing with you right off the top of the comment. It’s not my aim to get people to stop having sex. I have my views on that matter, but I’m not in the business of imposing them on others because, frankly, they wouldn’t listen. My aim is to get the government to realize that, unless it’s being taken for health reasons, expensive birth control pills aren’t a necessity when there is a far cheaper option available everywhere. It’s like buying a new Mercedes when all you need is a vehicle to get you from Point A to Point B. If you can afford the Mercedes, have at it; if not, don’t expect me to buy it for you.
Having said that, I completely agree with you; making birth control THE issue of the 2012 campaign is a huge mistake for anyone who goes that route. People are fired up about this now, but that will fade by November. Then, the economy and jobs are going to be in-focus, and each of the Republican contenders need to take note.
Again, thanks for stopping by and contributing to the discussion,
Kent
Jim Prokop says:
Kent,
Thanks for the kind words. You are no doubt a thoughtful person. I think you should take on the ESTABLISHMENT through the Dysfunction Junction and pressure the Legislature to eliminate corporal punishment in Mississippi schools. As you know, Mississippi has the distinction of beating more public school children, per capita, than any state in the union. This very issue is why one of my step-children who recently relocated to Memphis decided to live in Cordova,TN rather than Southhaven,MS even though it cost them more money.It is something to think about. It is just another one of those things that makes Mississippi look like a backwater that reflects on otherwise thoughtful people such as yourself. I was in Oxford a few months ago and found it to be a pleasant place. Will no doubt get inspired again and stop by along the way…the blog that is as well as Oxford.
Jim
Kent McCarty says:
Thanks Jim. On the issue of corporal punishment, I would love to see that ended on a state level, but I acknowledge that the state has a right to allow it. I certainly don’t equate spanking with child abuse, but I do think that there are more effective ways to punish children and that some parents find this form of punishment objectionable. I think the state is catching on to that, as the number of times corporal punishment has been used in schools has fallen drastically in recent years (to the point that I think we might be second to Texas in per capita occurrences).
Yes, there as some backwoods people in Mississippi (as there are everywhere), but they are the exception, not the rule. If you ever find yourself in South Mississippi, be sure to check out my hometown of Hattiesburg. We’ve acclimated to the 21st Century very nicely here.
Best,
Kent
JP says:
Aside from giving Ø and his administration the “right” to mandate what medication gets to who (no cancer drugs for you older folks, we spent all the money on birth control and abortion and “period regulation”).
This is mostly about more free stuff for women who are Ø’s last chance to get reelected and finish his job of destroying America.
If women get “free” (paid for by the rest of us) BC to regulate your period, who is going to pay for our porn which regulates how much testosterone we maintain vis a vis getting prostate cancer.
Thats right, its a medical fact that frequent ejaculation may help protect the prostate, and since you obnoxious liberal women have almost completely inhibited our “ability”, we need porn, and porn isn’t free; well the good stuff isn’t free, so YOU MUST PAY FOR IT.
WELL SOMEONE HAS TO PAY FOR IT and it seems logical it should be paid by the people who cause the problem, I.E. the JERK-OFFS in the DNC.
Jim Prokop says:
JP: Wholly sheep dip, you have the same initials as me; I just hope nobody confuses us. All kidding aside, your comments and open disrespect for the President give Mississippi a bad name. As I have said in previous posts I don’t have to “diss” Mississippi; your inane comments do it for me. I just need to sit back and watch while you shoot each other. So get on with it.
MIke says:
The lack of compassion in these discussions is only exceeded by the lack of actual, patient contact, medical experience/knowledge.
You boil everything down to black and white. It’s not back and white, there are a thousand shades of gray.
You’re 18 years old. You have the life experience of a gnat. Why don’t you wait until you are grown up and have experienced life long enough to understand what’s going on.
Then you can actually add something to the discussion, instead of parroting right wing BS…
Kent McCarty says:
I don’t need any medical experience to know that the only birth control that’s a necessity is that which is needed to help women with the problem that MicMac described above. I have the utmost compassion for woman who are forced to deal with such discomfort and for them, I would change nothing. The issue isn’t a lack of compassion, but rather a need to hold people responsible for their actions. Again, why should those paying for insurance have their premiums go up so that someone else can have free access to contraception used for preventative purposes? I don’t care who uses birth control or for what purpose, but I do find it objectionable that I will one day pay a higher insurance cost so that someone can have free, top-line birth control when a cheaper (yet still effective) alternative can be purchased at CVS for next to nothing.
If you want to make age an issue, that’s your prerogative. Just remember that one day it’ll be my generation leading your generation and the longer you belittle us, the more likely it is that we turn out to be as ineffective as the idiots in DC, some of whom are undoubtedly in your generation. All the life experience in the world can’t fix pure stupid.
And for what it’s worth, I turned 19 last month.
Mike G. says:
I think it’s a mistake to belittle the younger generation. I was once 19 myself, although it was a long time ago and one of the things I learned was that you learn by your own mistakes or if you’re paying attention, the mistakes of others.
I would caution anyone who disparages the youngsters in the political spectrum to beware because these young folks will soon be in positions of power and they just might be the ones picking out your nursing home, eh.
Java Mo says:
Mike (not Mike G)
I actually found the dialogue from both sides to be thought provoking. Of course this does not include your post which I find useless. If we don’t listen to different points of view from all ages we are guaranteed to continue making the same mistakes. Never mistake a lack of age for a lack of gray matter. Kent appears to have plenty of grey matter something which I imagine you are short on. We need to encourage young people to get involved not insult them.
Jim Prokop says:
Folks, I will have to defend Kent on this one. We need perspective from all ages whether ill informed or not, as long as it is thoughtful. I know a lot of folks in my age group 55+ who have the intellectual capacity of an ant. At least in my opinion. But, I do have one question: What’s that cheap birth control Kent keep talking about? I hope it’s not the old Foster Frieese aspirin between the knees deal that made he and Ricky Santorum the laughing stock of cable news! Although I did see something in the headline of this blog about cough drops…..
Jim Prokop says:
And just for the record, my wife and I get the honor of paying for Cadillac OB/GYN care in our health policy (the real deal..neonatal intensive care…evaluation to special medical centers,etc). But we have one big problem; we are too old to have any children. So, in essence we are being forced to pay big bucks for services we will NEVER use. We cannot buy an Ala-carte policy where we live so….. there you have it. But, ya know what,we really don’t mind because child birth is a positive for society as is birth control. Ya all may want to think about that. Sometimes ya have to look at the big picture and not just what puts money in or takes money out of your own pocket.
Ellen Bradford says:
I’m late to the discussion; but, Jim Prokop has it right – in a society we all pay for things we might disapprove of or have no use for whether that’s via paying taxes or buying health insurance. It’s a responsibility we share in order to live in a civil society. In this case, the consensus of the medical community is prescription contraceptives serve a legitimate public health/welfare need and HHS included them as required coverage for that reason. I would just mention there is a category of women using these drugs for birth control specifically: those for whom pregnancy carries a high risk and is medically contraindicated. We shouldn’t forget pregnancy is a medical condition (formerly used as reason to deny coverage to women)that can and does complicate other pre-existing conditions. The complications could be considered minor or could result in death. That’s not something to take lightly and, in my opinion, has been totally overlooked.
This is a much more complicated issue involving competing constitutional rights. The issue of “who pays” for birth control is a bit of a red herring because religiously-affiliated employer compensation plans cover it whether through net income paid or non-taxable insurance plans. I would be more comfortable if more people were aware religious freedom isn’t the only right protected by law. And if those who oppose the insurance mandate could explain why allowing the exemption requested couldn’t lead to more restrictive insurance coverage plans- could an employer eliminate prostate cancer coveraqe for treatment that could lead to impotence? Before you dismiss that idea remember that cancer is unique to a gender and both cancer and pregnancy can result in death. Maybe the real question is at what point, if ever, does “do no harm” take priority over the religious beliefs of an employer when it concerns the medical care and preventative choices of individuals? I don’t have the answer but I do have my opinion. As we all do.
Jim Prokop says:
Ellen
Some very thoughtful comments. Just curious, where are you from?
Adam says:
Kent, I cannot find any evidence of the “EOCC”. Are you referring to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)?
Katrina Unknown says:
Well, I’m kind of a newbie at commenting on these sorts of things, so, at risk of sounding dumb, I might as well post my views anyway….
Being Catholic, I don’t really love the idea of using contraceptives even though supporters do have some valid points, I like to see myself as someone trying to have an open mind. Even though I don’t like the idea of contraception, I do think that it would be a good idea to make contraceptives more readily available to help women who have medical conditions that birth control can benefit.
Also, in the way I see it, some women see becoming pregnant as some sort of illness, and to prevent this illness they use birth control. It’s as if they don’t want to catch being pregnant, so they do everything that usually leads to pregnancy and then take pills so that they can make sure that they don’t, like someone hanging around a bunch of contagious sick people and then taking shots and various meds to prevent getting sick, as well.
Another issue is religion. Even if I wasn’t religious, I think that I would still be concerned for those who are. Even though churches and other houses of worship are exempt from this birth control mandate, religious hospitals, universities, and other groups that serve the public will have to be a part of it. If this policy goes against their religion they should be exempt from it, too.