In case there’s any misunderstanding, let me state for the record that I fully support insurance coverage for contraception–although I’m not necessarily convinced all forms of birth control need to be available with co-pays. I pay a lot for my health insurance and pretty steep co-pays for a lot of my covered medications, so I don’t see that “covered” and “free of charge” are necessarily the same thing.
But here’s the thing that’s getting on my nerves. A lot of people are justifying the Obama Administration’s position on the basis of the medical benefits of oral contraceptives outside of birth control. Now, I’m well aware of these benefits and it’s certainly important that we talk about them, if only to raise awareness of women’s health issues.
BUT…and this is a big but if the ONLY thing oral contraceptives did was to prevent pregnancy, insurance should still be required to cover it. It bothers me that we feel like we need to justify the use of contraception by pointing to other reasons women might need it. What’s WRONG with using it just to prevent pregnancy? What’s the big deal with allowing women to choose when (and if) they will have children? Why are we afraid to say we want to be able to enjoy a healthy, fulfilling sex life without having to give birth every few years whether we are prepared to bring children into the world or not?
I’m here to say this loud and clear. I have an IUD which I’m getting replaced in a couple of weeks (it’s reached the end of its 10-year lifespan). And I have one so I can have sex without the possibility of pregnancy. I don’t care if it has other health benefits. I wouldn’t have it if I wanted to get pregnant, whatever those benefits might be. But I don’t want to get pregnant. (Yo, I have three kids already, and at my age, the risk of Down Syndrome and other birth defects is very high.)
So, to all the conservatives out there, yes, I want to fuck without consequences. Get over it. You should be GLAD I don’t want to bring endless children into the world who I will bring up to be bleeding heart agnostic liberals like myself. (Come to think of it, maybe I should reconsider my position on this…)
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