Thursday, March 8, 2012

The "right" to birth control?


Thinking about it too much… or maybe I’m not thinking about this enough?

I don’t know.

These are just some thoughts about the latest hot-button political topic in the United States lately.

If anyone wants to talk about contraception or abortion with any meaning, the conversation needs to start with the concept of personal responsibility. That needs to be defined and built upon before you and I can talk about women’s rights, birth control, and at what point human life starts.

Moving on... sort of:

Calling a woman a "slut" is not a criminal act. And frankly, in today’s day and age, it’s only a civil offence if the woman in question can demonstrate to a jury that she suffered damage from the comment.  The sad fact of the matter is that the price of assuring a free exchange of ideas in this country is that we have to tolerate a lot of crap that we don’t want to hear.

Speaking of rights:

You have the right to have as much consensual sex as you want, I really don’t care. But with that right comes responsibility, both to you and society. That is your responsibility.  

Your responsibility to understand what you are getting into to the best of your ability.

Your responsibility to communicate with your partner.

Your responsibility to consider possible ramifications.

Your responsibility to be ready to deal with foreseeable results.

So let me be clear on this, I do not consider it my responsibility to pay for, or even help you pay for medications, contraception or doctor’s visits so that you can have an orgasm with your partner.

I don’t have to help you pay your insurance premiums so you can drive.

I don’t have to help you pay your mortgage so you can own a house.

I don’t have to help you pay for food.

And yes, I know all of those have government assistance available to them, but that’s the government’s money, not mine, right out of my own pocket. I may not like the government helping some people, but that is their legally obtained money, and my say in how they get it is expressed through the voting process.

I do not want to hand my money to someone else and say “here, go buy birth control”, and I don't want the government to make me with no regard or consideration for my personal convictions, morals or ethics. 

2 comments:

  1. I don't want to hand over my money for our many wars. So, tell you what, you reimburse me that and the birth control is on me. :)

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  2. I believe that anything that requires a prescription should be automatically covered by any insurance that includes a prescription plan.

    There are plenty of insurance plans currently (hopefully none soon) that have a prescription plan that specifically EXCLUDES birth control.

    I have several friends that require hormonal birth control not for preventing pregnancy, but for treating other medical issues. A medical insurance plan NOT covering this is just.... wrong.

    (Note that I personally have an insurance plan that doesn't cover prescriptions AT ALL. And that I personally don't use birth control -- don't need to. Never have used the pill, but not out of any moral conviction one way or the other; but allowing insurance companies to pick and choose what they will and will not cover is heading (continuing to head) down a bad road.)

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