I don't often read the news with absolute disgust, but I read this story about the contraception debate and had to go find my soapbox and dust it off, because I am totally outraged by the story.
Mother basically told me about this at breakfast and I thought hmmm... I know I was awfully busy the last few days and haven't even had time to glance at the headlines but really??
It boggles my mind that this debate exists at all.
For those of you not up to speed, let me quote here from the Reuters article:
"Obama's policy originally required all employers that provide health insurance - except for houses of worship and churches - to supply coverage for women's contraceptives. Non-employer sponsored health insurance policies would also have to cover them.
Obama subsequently tweaked the policy so that religiously affiliated employers like hospitals, universities and charities would not be required to cover the cost, which would fall instead on insurers. That did not satisfy Catholic bishops, who reject the use of artificial contraceptives.
The debate has triggered incendiary rhetoric on both sides of the issue, which has pitted advocates of women's reproductive rights against supporters of conservative social policies."
Rush Limbaugh called the young woman who testified before the Senate a "slut". President Obama called to thank her for testifying in support of the bill.
President Obama is trying to get re-elected. He is courting voters. Period. More on that in a minute.
Rush Limbaugh is a loudmouthed moron. I read a book some years ago by Al Franken called Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, and I haven't changed my mind since. I don't agree with a lot of liberals about a lot of things, but I agree that Rush is an idiot. However, it galls me to think that if I espouse some conservative values, some people will consider me to be in the same category as Rush.
Do I think insurance companies should be required to cover contraceptives? Hell to the NO. Insurance companies should be ALLOWED to cover contraceptives, and people who want that coverage can pay for it. Let the free market alone. It's about choice.
So why is this being pushed by the president? Simple. If the bill is passed, pharmaceutical companies will benefit, and they are huge contributors to the Obama reelection. Read this article by Peter Schweizer Big Pharma's Role in the Contraception Debate.
This is not about the low-cost contraception methods like condoms or birth control pills. It's about more expensive options.
To quote the article: "It’s important to point out that among President Obama’s biggest financial backers are precisely the Big Pharma companies who benefit from the mandate. Sally Sussman, head of government affairs for Pfizer, is one of his biggest campaign bundlers, who co-hosted a fundraiser for Obama on Thursday night. Pfizer sells numerous contraceptives that now must be covered by health-care plans. Obama’s financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry run deep. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he collected three times more in contributions from pharmaceutical manufacturers than John McCain, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And he will no doubt win the money race again during this election cycle."
Republicans are not immune to this sort of thing, the article goes on to say. Rick Perry's executive order requiring vaccination of schoolgirls in Texas with Gardasil was all about money, too, not health.
All this goes back to my primary feeling about politics in general: it's all about MONEY and POWER, not helping people. Lobbyists are EVIL. Congress is a cesspool.
I like these quotes:
Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so.
Gore Vidal
