In 1972 I was able to buy the pill

[malaise]

without a prescription.

I remember a conversation with my very Catholic mother when my best friend was pregnant. Mom wanted to know if I was sexually active. I told her of course but that I was sensible enough to be using the pill (I had no fear of either of my parents and never lied to them). I could see relief on her face because you see the shame of a pregnant daughter is always greater than ignoring the church re birth control.

WTF is going on with access to birth control 40 years later.
Get up stand up - stand up for your rights women!!

[Klukie]

1. I don't know...

this really isn't an access issue as much as it is a who is going to pay for it issue.

[eShirl]

2. glarg

[TheMastersNemesis]

3. Not True

The pay issue is a diversion from the real agenda. We are facing "personhood" amendments in 13 states and for the 3rd time in Colorado. That defines a "person" as existing at conception. Such a law if passed would make virtually ALL birth control ILLEGAL. It would make birth control methods equal to murder. It would open up a pandora's box that would necessitate all DA's to investigate any miscarriage and all such events would HAVE to be reported to the police.

They plan to eliminate access. Period. Many rural areas in the country only have religious hospitals who offer NO reproductive services. In north central Kentucky all the major hospitals are allied with religious institutions.

[malaise]

8. Dind ding we have a winner

[elias7]

9. Also not true

OCP's prevent ovulation, therefore no conception occurs, and no murder if the definition of life started at conception.

[TheMastersNemesis]

12. You Are Correct

Yes that is true. However the Catholic Church is against ALL interference of any kind. Even that kind of pill is forbidden by the bishops and the Pope. They even forbid all mechanical devices. The ONLY THING the Church supports is abstinence at a certain time of the month. The churches by and large just don't want women to have any choices in this matter. Now viagra for men is perfectly ok.

Now fundies may accept OCP but they will find a way to object to it as well. Some of the most extreme beliefs are that either the sperm or the egg is a person because of the "philosophic principle of potential". That entity which even has a the potential to be what it can ultimately be exists in reality before the fact.

Technically under personhood guidelines the OCP would not be termination of life. The argument is about denying all services. This pay issue is and religious freedom brouhaha is just a diversion to hide their real agenda.

[jeff47]

14. Not quite

Birth control pills usually prevent ovulation. But not always.

Birth control pills also induce a period, whether or not an egg has implanted. So they can indeed cause an abortion.

[Angry Dragon]

15. The part that never gets discussed is

that once you establish personhood at conception then that fetus becomes a person
then that person counts as a deduction on the tax form.
According to the IRS a person does not become a person until a breath is taken.
I bet there are all kinds of things that are not thought out in this

[ellenfl]

16. a point i make in every choice discussion i have. eom

[Retrograde]

21. The issue with "personhood begins at conception" that I never see discussed

is what happens with identical twins? Suppose life does begin and the soul is infused when the egg is fertilized: fine, but then the developing embryo splits to become two separate people. Which one gets the soul? Which is the "real" person? Does this explain why one twin is always evil (my sisters, twins, assure me this is true)?

Yeah, it's somewhat a facetious argument, but I think that the new focus on Personhood is just another false front for the base premise: women are unequal and inferior beings.

BTW, when does corporate personhood occur? When the business plan is written, or at the first sale?

[Yavin4]

22. So, You're A Person At Conception, But Once You're Born, You're On Your Own.

As soon as you come out of the womb, it's grab a broom and a mop and go work as a janitor at the school.

[uppityperson]

23. If you can't afford to pay for it, and your insurance says they don't want to, it IS an access issue

[Capitalocracy]

4. I buy them all the time without a prescription.

So does my wife, you know, the times I don't.

In Argentina. A nation with an official religion. Catholic.

[TheMastersNemesis]

5. Women Send Your GOP Rep A Coat Hanger In Protest

Women should be incensed about this assault on their health. These same goons are against womens' equal pay, food stamps, welfare, unemployment insurance, prenatal care, and womens' rights in general. Send a coat hanger to your clergy or to a GOP rep. Maybe they will get the message.

[noel711]

6. In 1970 I didn't have to buy it...

College medical dispensary...
meet briefly with doc..
take blood pressure, etc etc.
No prob.
And that is how it should be handled today;
take medical history,
check in if side effects,
no hassles.

I don't understand how one major political party
has gone medieval on women...

[SoCalDem]

7. In 1970, my husband and I both had to go to my doctor

for me to get it..

Of course the one they put me on was later withdrawn from the market ..(too late for the irreversible damage it did to my vision)..

[TheMastersNemesis]

13. They Hate Women They Are A Bunch Of Sadistic Screwballs.

They hate woman and want them in the same place the Taliban want their women. Do you realize that the right for women to even vote went on for decades. Women were jailed and abused. I believe some were even force fed because they went on hunger strikes.
The right to vote passed by ONLY ONE VOTE because ONE Congressional rep changed his vote because I believe his mother or his aunt pleaded with him to change his NO vote. There is very little difference hear. They are denying and even punishing women the right to control their own biology and their own future. They might as well not let them vote.

I would enforce the womens right by force if necessary that what they want is so unacceptable.

[treestar]

10. Late 70s, we needed a prescription

They wouldn't give it to you without an internal exam. It was a monthly cost, for which I never made an insurance claim. Still don't get that part of it. What insurance would cover it? It would take a good part of the year to reach the deductible. Have the newer versions increased that much in price?

[Warren Stupidity]

11. insurance plans with prescription coverage use co-pays, not deductibles

and deductibles are aggregated over all of your medical expenses.

[treestar]

18. OK. Never had that type of benefit.

[ellenfl]

17. in 1971, i paid <$14 for a year's pills. eom

[malaise]

19. True

I wasn't even thinking about the cost - just the access and the ease with which my mom accepted my choice

[Maven]

20. Well said.

k/r