Obamacare Free Birth Control Decision Is About Raw Politics

Wow, what a shocker. An upper middle class white dude thinks that birth control is cheap and available for everyone.

I've got news for you pal: I pay health insurance premiums that are absurd, and my health care plan (chosen by MY employer and unalterable as such) covers NO CONTRACEPTION. The widely available birth control pill? $75 a month. An IUD? $1200 every five years, all out of pocket. That's an absurd amount to pay to maintain one's reproductive health.

Beyond that, how exactly do you think this will make health care costs skyrocket? The health insurance industry spends billions on unplanned pregnancies every year. The federal government spends upwards of $11 billion a year. Insurance providers providing birth control free of charge has, at the time of this publication, failed to collapse the economies of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. I think we'll be alright.

And finally, to your ridiculous social mores point: people have sex for recreation. That's not new. It's not up to insurance companies to decide what is and isn't socially appropriate. It's up to insurance companies to defray the costs of preventive health care to paying customers. Should they not provide coverage for any medicine because Christian Scientists might object? This is all ignoring the fact that hormonal birth control is used to treat many different physical maladies, not just preventing pregnancy.

Reproductive rights aren't special interest politics. They affect everyone. I suggest getting out of the Fox News Forums a little more, and talking to some women who actually have to pay for absurdly high priced and necessary medication out of pocket. This article was written with the arrogant naivete of someone who has never had to worry about such things.

Augusta Christensen of MD 6:41AM August 03, 2011