Birth Control Policy and more
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I was talking with my friend about how unbelievable it is that a debate over passing a law that the Government would get to decide what goes into any womans uterus gets to the Congressional floor. How the fuck does that happen?
We have come so far but we have? There seems to be a huge disconnect between the reality of where our country is to the politicians who are on the forefront of any media outlet these days. Religious schools and hospitals should not have to provide employees access to free birth control otherwise it is taking away their religious freedom. Exactly whose freedom is being taken away? Mostly men, who unfortunately are the majority in the house and senate are attempting to make these decisions about womens bodies, birth control and their sexual behavior because it is up to them to decide about a womans religious freedom. It is utterly insane.
Is it the minor majority making these decisions. The minor majority to me is a minority of people who just seem to make the most noise. Perhaps it is to get people to pay attention to their political wrangling, perhaps it is the media just trying to capture more eyeballs but the majority of people in this country take birth control. Having access to abortion is giving a woman the right to choose. I'd bet the majority of women that choose to have an abortion is not a decision that comes lightly and to think otherwise is demeaning. More people are becoming single parents, less people are getting married, more families are a combination of multi-races, ethnicity's, sexual preferences not the Ozzie and Harriet family of the 1950s.
After the very quick reaction from women in this country (and men) when the Susan Komen Foundation pulled their funding on Planned Parenthood that forced them to return the funding within days says to me that most people in this country just don't speak up until we get to the edge of bad change.
Where did these insanely conservative men come from or at least they appear to be insanely conservative on the front but god knows what they are really like when they close their doors at night. I just hope that we are beginning to see the last of these mens grasp to force our nation to live under laws that are not in line with how the majority of us live our lives. Take a look around. I bet that no matter where you live in this country you know at least one gay couple, one single parent, more than one person over 35 who never got married and I bet all of them are having sex. Wouldn't it be wise to make sure that everyone had access to birth control and more importantly education about safe sex. Wouldn't you want that for your daughters or would you rather have a law that they have no choice, no access to birth control and if they got pregnant then the Government would have the right to stick something up their uterus before they had an abortion. Talk about treating women like secondary citizens. Preventive measures are best but sometimes shit happens. Cutting off money to birth control is cutting off preventive measures.
Making sure that all employers have to have insurance that also covers birth control is good for the well being of our society. The fact that this is even a conversation that is going on in the year 2012 makes me truly wonder about what other womens rights could be trampled on. Guaranteed if women were the majority in the Congress and Senate, these conversations would not be taking place and how would all those men like it if we took away their rights. Let's think what rights we could take away from men. Perhaps someone should see if we could get that conversation about a law taking away certain rights of men to begin on the Congressional floor. That would be enlightening.
Comments (Archived):
You said it!! I am aghast. I’ve been asked to join a think tank on how to get more women elected. Excited to strategize…
the question is why would anyone want to be elected these days. you spend 80% of your time raising money and the light shed on your life is insane. when did that happen?
Thats the other side of “progress” Being a visible woman leader is powerful, and women actually have a lot of power —the trick is to figure out how to remain standing, when others attack.
So just because I don’t want the federal govt to force other people to pay for it, I am insanely conservative and want to “control” what goes into women’s bodies???Is limiting the power of federal government now a qualification for “insane”?If I don’t want everyone forced to pay for it, I am against it?
you do pay for it in other ways and to think otherwise you are just fooling yourself.women who have access to capital can pay for whatever they need to do. it is the women who don’t have access to education on birth control that find themselves in terrible situations. if we don’t help them at the beginning we are just going to be paying for it in the end when they show up with no insurance at the hospital with their kid in tow, and the other possible costs down the line such as welfare. if we help them at the onset that is called caring about our fellow man.everyone deserves access to health care and that is called prophylactic care. the costs are smaller now than they will be later. don’t be short sighted.
You didn’t answer my questions.Am I INSANE for thinking that this is not the role of Fed Govt?Does “opposes taxpayer-funding of ____” really equal “denys access to ____”? Try filling in the ______ with other words: ferraris, bibles, viagra… The logic doesn’t hold.p.s. Is creating dependency really “caring for your fellow man”?Let’s take a tour of those areas that have been “taken care of” for the past couple generations.
there is always going to be people who need dependency and I for one am happy to provide with the hope that their children will learn otherwise through a good education system but i know that isn’t your question.it is role of the federal government to provide access to health care for all and that includes birth control and the access to abortion is need be. ( which is legal )
Ahhhh….so this isn’t *just* about birth control….it is about gov’t expansion toward a universal system.Which is exactly what many of us anticipate, and why we are willing to fight this early, unpopular fight.Some of us aren’t excited about USPS/amtrak healthcare.Some of us don’t want our mom’s best friend, a nun for 45 years, to be forced to pay for rights (not listed in the Constitution) that she has a real, spiritual objection to.Call me “insane”…but when I see dependent areas, I see 80% single-motherhood, crime, drug abuse and a complete dismantling of all hope. Makes for a useful voting block though!
80% in those areas is a small portion of the overall population.
Well the “good” news is, the government is “helping” more people than ever! 1/6 completely dependent. Another govt success story. 5/6ths left to utopia!On Mar 6, 2012 9:57 AM, “Disqus” <>
Ha. Getting full utopia over the finish line could be almost impossible
If Stalin can do it so can we! Now…where should we send this “insane minority” of objectors????
Perhaps to an island w/o condoms or birth control? 🙂
Oh they’d be there…. We just wouldnt expect our neighbor to be forced to pay for them. 🙂
You should read @lisamogull:disqus ‘s comments above. She has a spiritual objection to capital punishment. Others probably believe that certain wars are wrong and their tax dollars shldn’t go to that.Imagine a democracy where we now don’t protect the rule of gov’t and law but rather we all get to decide based on our moral proclivity where those dollars should go?
I don’t think people should be forced to pay for things that they reject morally or spiritually.Strictly limited government, local lawmaking and mobility FTWThen again, I am “insane”
I paid for the Iraq War, which was completely objectionable to me. I pay for the death penalty, which I don’t believe in. Sorry, but your mom’s best friend doesn’t get precedence over everyone else.
Your point is valid.I don’t think people should be forced to pay for things that they reject morally or spiritually.Strictly limited government, local lawmaking and mobility FTWThen again, I am “insane”
even with limited government – most would say the defense of the nation counts – but what if you are a pacifist, should you not pay for defense?
my brother had a friend who worked for the Government getting people who didn’t pay their taxes to pay up. These are people who wanted their money to go to one special department or didn’t agree with something so they wouldn’t pay them…they had documents b/c they would send back their tax returns with letters.Bottom line, you have to pay your taxes. Money might be funding areas that you do not necessarily agree with but that is democracy.
You should use your mobility to situate yourself inside of a government that does not wish to defend itself. Much much easier to do when government is local rather than regional, federal or (dear god no!) global…
I lived in France, a predominately Catholic country, that has socialized medicine. Birth control pills were subsidized and cost about $3/month. I never heard any “religious” objections to good healthcare and contraception. The current attack on women’s health and healthcare is a frightening manifestation of American politics. As an American I expect religious freedom. As a Jew I am angry and frightened by politicians who tell me I live in a Christian country. Even worse that they use this as a justification to deny me my rights as a woman and thinking person. Women of all ages should be able to make decisions for themselves about their religious and moral beliefs. As Carolyn Maloney pointed out in a blog post on the Huffpost:”Some sincere members of the religious community have tried to make the case that they do not wish to have any of their tax dollars go towards supporting access to birth control in any way whatsoever. But one of the accommodations we all must make for the privilege of living in a free and pluralistic society is that sometimes our tax dollars will help to pay for activities we may not approve of, or support.For instance, I share with many religious leaders a deep-seated opposition to the death penalty. And yet our tax dollars will comingle with the funds from those in the majority who approve of capital punishment. When executions occur some small portion of my tax dollars will go toward paying for an executioner’s salary. And I do not approve. But that is part of the price we all pay for living in a democracy. Yes, it may seem problematic at times. But, in all the world, there is no better system of government.”I couldn’t agree more.
You couldn’t have said it better I agree with everything you said including the Jewish piece.
Regardless of which side you sit on this debate there is one fact that will never change.If you are WEALTHY, you will ALWAYS have access to free and safe forms of birth control and/or abortion. Access is directly tied to health and safety.
Agree. That’s why it is important to create wealth
You are absolutely right and that is why we must provide access to all
Excellent point.I saw a television program that stated that the crime rate went down in the late 80’s and early 90’s not because of more police and jails and convictions, but because the right to abortion became legal years before . In the 90’s those unwanted children would have been of legal age to commit more crimes.The 5 states that allowed abortion earlier had their crime rate go down in direct relation to the time line of the instituting of a woman’s legal right to abortion.
Wow
The drop in crime/abortion thesis is from the book, Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Interesting read, although there is a debate about how they gathered and analyzed the stats.
Absolutely. I don’t see how people don’t realize this.
Spot on. Especially since right now, I’m guessing that since our tax dollars pay for the “blue chip” health plan afforded to our elected officials, we’re also buying Viagra for them.
we probably are.
let’s take away their guns.
nice. i can think of worse things but i won’t put them up on line.
Perfect example. I believe gov’t should pay for guns for everyone that wants them. Any objections?If so, does that mean you want to “deny my right to bear arms”????
Delusional. “Oppose govt mandating it be paid for” = “take away”???
Hey GG. Did you see proposed legislation from Yasmin Neal? I’m on phone so can’t easily link but she was talking ab her anti vasectomy legislation yesterday on NPR. To even have to be discussing this is sad. I’m not sure if you saw this a few months ago but an organization came to MS to try to pass a personhood amendment. They targeted my home state bc of obvious reasons. Even w the governors support it failed to pass which says a lot considering it is most conservative/religious state in USA.
i did see this. what’s up with these people? they should seriously keep their views and religious desires to themselves. if you look at the statistics most people want access to birth control and education on birth control. it is the 21st century. arrgghh.
this is awesomehttp://thepoliticalcarnival…A week ago, Turner announced Senate Bill 307, which would require a man who wants an erectile dysfunction drug to provide his doctor with a notarized affidavit — from at least one sex partner — that says he’s had symptoms in the previous 90 days.Turner says she also wants to rally women across the country to push for similar bills in their states.“It’s not a joke,” Turner told The Plain Dealer this week. “I’m dead serious. I want to continue this strong dialogue about what is fair and what is equal.”“It is crucial that we take the appropriate steps to shelter vulnerable men from the potential side effects of these drugs,” she said in a written statement.“The men in our lives, including members of the General Assembly, generously devote time to fundamental female reproductive issues. The least we can do is return the favor.”
i LOVE this. thanks laurie.
“The minor majority to me is a minority of people who just seem to make the most noise.” I agree wholeheartedly.
indeed frightening that this is on the table. What could congress take away from men? If you tweeted your followers what would they say?
I am a lapsed Catholic that went to a Catholic college. Birth control was not available to students unless you had a letter from your doctor stating it was for a reason other than birth control. Notre Dame is a residential college and many students didn’t have cars. I tell you what Joanne – it was the dumbest thing you’ve ever seen not to give college students access to birth control. What is also unfortunate is that many of the professors that work for ND weren’t Catholic. I really loved Notre Dame. But when I look back and see some of the sexist behavior I am sick that I didn’t notice it and I didn’t protest it.
Amen.
If you haven’t seen it, seek out Jon Stewart’s clip on the Daily Show about this debate. It definitely helped me laugh through the outrage and be just as disgusted at the hypocrisy of some of the people pushing this debate forward as the debate itself.
I am sorry if I am missing something in the story, but I need to come back to the issue at hand if I can.Isn’t the question whether a Catholic institution be forced to provide birth control to it’s employees/students through the insurance providers? If so, isn’t there a clause for medical needs? If they want it for pure birth control, what is stopping them from going to or being employed by a different institution? My primary health care facility is the Catholic Medical Center and after having 2 children my wife and I decided that since she did the birthing, I would get the vasectomy. My hospital would not perform it, so I had to choose another one. Are you saying I should have demanded CMC to provide this care. Freedom is not being taken away from anyone, nor is the right to choose. You have the freedom to choose an alternative!
You should have absolutely demanded that from your healthcare facility. For them to pick and choose what they feel like they want to provide insurance for is absolutely wrong as far as I am concerned.
they are free to stop providing health services and stop being funded by government and insurer reimbursement if they deny health services to women and men: that is the only choice they should have.
I agree. It’s insane, and frankly, I think the Republicans have really hurt themselves. Abortion has been debated for decades, and I’m pro-choice, but I can *understand* why people are pro-life. (Obviously, I don’t think the current laws should change.) But I think the vast majority of pro-life women are not anti-birth control and think that it should be widely available.I can say that there are schools that don’t market themselves as religious schools (like Georgetown) that then don’t want to pay for bc. I think that’s absurd. I also think it’s absurd that people don’t understand that married people also need birth control and that even marriage does not mean you are prepared to have a child anytime you have sex. (I have seen online people saying that you shouldn’t have sex unless you are okay with having a child, which is ridiculous.)
they are not pro-life in the least. they are anti-choice.
the issue becomes more dire down the income scale. at the higher end, women will find services one way or another. at the other end, not so much. it is a war on all women, and it is especially a war on poor women.
i couldn’t agree with you more.
and younger women …