The Healthcare Debate

In 1982 I was reading a MS magazine article about the topic of birth control being used for political purposes. What the author said might happen in the future has already happened in 2012. Not exactly in the same fashion but similiar. 

It was hard for me to believe what I was reading. I read the article again as it seemed like what was predicted came from another time period, another century. 

One person really didn't believe me until they read the article.  I was told by various people that no politican in their right mind would support these types of measures as they were too extreme and certainly outside the mainstream thought.  Another person told me that this was radicial feminists trying to cause problems or trying to stir the pot on something that wasn't going to happen and wasn't a issue.

In 1982 this would be considered to be extreme, or outside the mainstream. 

Back then, there were very few people that I knew personally who were against birth control.  A few here and there.  Fast forward today the same is true yet you would never known this from the political landscape.

Over the past months I've listened to various radio station of different political viewpoints discuss this issue.  Usually it's a very passionate debate.  Unfortunately what used to be thought of as a privacy issue (birth control use, one's sex life) has become a political issue, but only as it relates to women.

The sex lives of women have always been until recent times regulated by law or custom. This is something which politicans and others need to keep their noses out of and focus on other issues.  If you notice, they don't attempt to regulate the sex lifes of other men or tell them what to do in regard to these issues. 

I listened to one debates between two women over this issue.  One said that she didn't want to pay for birth control pills or pay for someone having pre-martial sex.  In her mind birth control pills or contraception in general promoted immoral behavior. I wish I had a number to call into this radio station because I would have something to say to her regarding this. 

Birth control pills are used for birth control (that's one use) but it's also used to regulate periods or help those women who have severe cramping.  On the other hand drugs like Viagra serve no other purpose except for sex.  Men who take Viagra do so for the sole purpose of having sex and the ads about it promote sexual activity..  Men don't take it for any other purpose. The other woman on the radio show basically said this about the issue. 

I'm sure if this same woman didn't want to pay for birth control pills because of pre-martial sex why would she want to pay for unwed men using Viagra or married men using it to cheat on their wife.  I'm sure there are men out there using Viagra irresponsibilty.  I would have loved to have asked her this and see what she would have said.

When this is brought up, people always sidestep this (I've noticed that some of them get very flustered) and always say that Viagra is for a medical problem.  That's different. To deny a man Viagra would be deterimental to his quality of life (this is what one person said when this question was asked) but denying a woman contraception was a different manner.

I don't buy this argument at all. True they are different things but denying either one of them access would be deterimental to the quality of the lives of both sexes.   

What's interesting to me is that some of these individuals who are now opposed to birth control  (and this includes people from a wide ranges of careers and walks of life) have one or two children.  If you don't use contraception on a regular basis or you guess at it, chances are you will have more than 2 children.  Most of the wives or partners of these individiuals  used birth control (mostly likely the pill) because I doubt that they permanently abstained from sex after they had the children they wanted.

A few of these individuals never had any children.  Wonder how that happened as I doubt that they had a sexless marriage and unless they were infertile, birth control was probably used at some point. 

You never heard any debate over whether use of Viagra should be restricted or strictly regulated, or who legally could or couldn't use it.  This was and has been debated when it came to the pill and birth control in general. It's still being debated. The Supreme Court settled these questions back in 1965 and 1972. 

Another thing that I don't understand is when asked this question some officials have said that states have the right to ban contraception..Why do they say this. I would like to know.  They say this and don't seem to understand that you've made a political statement.  They never said the same thing about Viagra nor would they even think of doing so. 

I've ended my soap box for the night.