kinda OT - for women that want the right to make their own healthcare decisions

Thanks for the information. I live in a province where women can go topless in public so things are a little different here!

Kelly, I like your idea of a collage or quilt-like uterus. I am helpless with yarn but i know I could could make a great one out of clay. Perhaps a little $ to ship, but hey, maybe they'll use it as a paperweight (ha!).

 I love this idea - - however, in practice, sadly, these will get opened by underpaid staffers or interns, looked at oddly for 5 seconds, then thrown away. Not being a cynic, but DH worked on the Hill and I got to hear lots of sad stories of how alot of things get ignored. Here's a word of advice for getting your voice heard to your Rep/Senator: do a thoughtful letter, mailed, and be polite. They don't pay much attention to form letters. Less attention is paid to emails/phonecalls/letters that harangue or use offensive language. Again, as a staffer, DH got alot of those. Even better to get one's views out: volunteer on a campaign! Getting involved puts a face to a viewpoint.

LOL, I LOVE IT!!!

Anyone that thinks they should be able to make health decisions for anyone else, male or female, is a moron.  In a perfect world, I think a woman should discuss abortion decisions (not a result of rape or incest) with the potential father, since her choice can determine whether or not he has child to pay for over the next 18 or so years, but in the end it is her decision to make.

However, anyone that tells me that I have to pay for someone else's birth control method, is similarly impaired.  I wouldn't expect someone to cover the cost of condoms for me, why should I cover the cost fo the pill for a woman.  And, I do understand that birth control is much cheaper than the cost of an unwanted child, but that's not my problem either.

Also, I hear the argument that Viagra is sometimes covered for men, but to equate that to birth control pills, is a false analogy.  Viagra, Cialis, etc. are designed to correct something that is not working correctly, where the pill is designed keep the natural process from working.  They are 2 completely different things.  It would be like equating an arhythmia medication to a birth control pill.  Apples and oranges.

Ditto.  On all points.

Lora

When we talk about whether or not health insurance should cover birth control pills (or other forms of birth control), it's not exactly that you are being asked to pay for someone else's birth control pills.  However, the way insurance works, you kind of help pay for whatever health care services other people need, and they kind of help pay for your health care services. 

I agree that, at least in most cases, a woman should discuss abortion decisions with the father of the child.  It is ultimately her decision to make, but certainly the father should get to have some input into it.

There is a lot that I don't agree with that is going on now.

I do see both sides however about the birth control issue. and insurance in general. Employers are allowed to exclude things now - look at all the insurance that doesn't cover WLS. There are certain meds my son needed that weren't covered because there wasn't a generic version, etc.

So in that way - BC is no different. no one is STOPPING people from getting it anyway, people can still choose to get the pill, or WLS, or any medicine, you just pay out of pocket.

so I don't totally dig the argument that anyone is stopping any one else from doing it. there are plenty of places that offer sliding scales on BC that it is accessible even if not through insurance.

I think it's a bit of a slippery slope if you start saying insurance should cover everything - that makes plans unaffordable for some companies.