Free Birth Control Pills

I was waiting for this. Rightwing Evangelicals will soon be on the march and raise a hue and cry to repeal “Obamacare” because it kills children.

Or, as they say, potential children.

This is because, as I see in today’s Houston Chronicle, there is an interpretation of the Mikulski Women’s Health Overhaul amendment that would “require insurers to cover preventive care and screenings for women at little or not cost to them” is actually wording that guarantees free birth control pills to all comers.

Evangelicals are coming unglued as we see in the article:

“‘We don't consider it to be health care, but a lifestyle choice,’ said John Haas, president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, a Philadelphia think tank whose work reflects church teachings. ‘We think there are other ways to avoid having children than by ingesting chemicals paid for by health insurance.’”

Now whether “preventive care” made free goes beyond free mammograms to include prevention of conception, generally not considered a disease, is neither here nor there. [But wouldn’t it be great if indeed birth control was not something someone has to opt out of because of the added expense?] The article goes on and strays back into the world of reason, pointing out that birth control pills is very mainstream these days.

“The use of birth control is ‘virtually universal’ in the U.S., according to a government report this summer from the National Center for Health Statistics. Nearly 93 million prescriptions for contraceptives were dispensed in 2009, according to IMS Health, a market analysis firm. Generic versions of the pill are available at Walmart stores, for example, for $9 a month.”

“Still, about half of all pregnancies are unplanned, and many occur among women using some form of contraception. The government says the problem is rarely the birth control method, but "inconsistent or incorrect use," such as forgetting to take a pill.”

“Advocates say free birth control would begin to address the problem.”

“‘We can look at other countries where birth control is available for no cost, and what we see are lower pregnancy rates, lower abortion rates and lower teen pregnancy,’ said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood.”

Yes. Wouldn’t it be nice if America was more like other countries where there are lower teen pregnancies and lower abortion rates?