That Contraceptive "Argument" ... Really People?

It doesn't matter what your political leanings are, if you are female at certain points in your life you're going to be told you need certain screenings (Pap test, mammogram). You may find out that you have certain medical issues that require medications typically used for contraception (endometriosis, menopause, control of acne, regulation of the menstrual cycle, etc.). You may have some insurance, no insurance, not enough insurance or one of those so-called Cadillac plans. 

And you might wonder why a drug for men's reproductive "issues" is mandated to be covered by insurance and yet the mere idea that a type of drug for yours is causing such a ruckus. Within weeks of Viagra's hitting the market in 1998 more than half of all prescriptions for the drug were covered by insurance. The Pill? Not so much. Which is REALLY silly since The Pill is cheaper than a pregnancy. AND contraception tends to mean that there are fewer abortions as there are fewer unplanned pregnancies. Imagine that. (Spare me the whole two wrongs don't make a right hoo-ha, I'm not buying it)

You might also wonder why political candidates and various religious groups are bound and determined to shut down the clinic where you get your annual screenings. Especially when the funding for programs that would have allowed you to go to the community health center instead have been severely cut. So where can you go for the Pap Smear or Mammogram you need? 

Well, according to one current presidential candidate as recently as yesterday you "can go anywhere" you "like". Really? Where? I wonder if said candidate has ever even known anyone who needed the services of a free or low-cost clinic. 

I know what you're thinking. But... but... Planned Parenthood is EVIL! They do abortions! Hate to break it to you but for all you know your doctor might too. See in the days of HIPAA privacy protection you'd never know - unless the doctor in question performed those services at a clinic and someone saw him/her coming and going from said clinic. 

Oh no, wait... if that clinic also provided gynecological services for low-income and/or uninsured women how could you be sure that the doctor didn't only provide annual exams, Pap tests, etc.? 

That's just it people, you don't know, you can't be sure. 

Well gee, you say, Cat you're Catholic how can you support contraception and the Obama Administration's mandate for insurance coverage? Or.... How can you support Planned Parenthood?

Easily. 

(1) Contraceptives are used for more than prevention of pregnancy. I have had endometriosis and needed shots for 9 months after surgery to basically shut my reproductive system down so it could heal. The cost was well over $600 a shot. The cost nearly destroyed my financial well-being. It wasn't covered. And there was this little thing called a "maximum limit" on how much the company would cover in a year. Now that I am facing the so-called Change of Life, I may need hormone replacement therapy to control symptoms. Guess what that therapy is? LOW DOSE CONTRACEPTIVES!! 

Are you with me so far?

(2) I have been between jobs, had jobs with no insurance coverage. I have dense tissue in my breasts which can easily hide problems like very small lumps which could be cancerous. Therefore, I have been in need of gynecological services and not been able to afford them. So what did I do? I went to Planned Parenthood. I saw for myself that 99.9% of the women there were there because they needed gynecological services, pre-natal care, well baby care and so on. They were NOT churning out abortions right and left. There was some literature available but I never saw any frightened looking young woman being led down the path to Hell by the evil abortion providers.

Imagine that, doctors and nurses providing medical care at a clinic of all places! 

(3) The doctor I saw at Planned Parenthood is the one who diagnosed my endometriosis. If it hadn't been for him and the appointment I had there that day who knows when/if the diagnosis would have been made.

So here's my thing... if you disallow coverage for contraception are you going to disallow it for ALL its medical uses or only for the actual purpose of birth control? Why it is allowable to cover a drug for male erectile dysfunction but not for hormone replacement therapy? I don't consider myself a feminist but that seems more than a bit sexist. 

If you succeed in destroying Planned Parenthood and continue to cut funding for social programs such as health clinics where are uninsured and under-insured women supposed to get medical care? In reality they can't go "anywhere" they'd like because (hello!) there isn't anywhere else for them to go. 

By the way, there have been EEOC rulings and court cases which clearly state that to provide coverage for male reproductive drugs but not for contraceptives is gender discrimination. [Check it out here] Title VII (enacted in 1964 and amended a time or two) currently doesn't allow  religious organizations to discriminate on the basis of race, sex (including pregnancy-related conditions), national origin or religion in the provision of pay or benefits to their employees. 

Ah ha!! This means ladies and gents that CURRENTLY those religious organizations who are yelling about providing coverage for contraception should RIGHT NOW be providing coverage for contraception. By now doing so they are in violation of Title VII, as in: breaking... the... law.

Really people? Let's think about this, shall we?