Using contraceptives? Post your online sex tape then!

[HazleNutt]

I can't see a thread discussing the charming Mr Limbaugh - could you point me to the direction if there is one?

According to him, women who want their health insurance to cover contraceptives are

a) sluts who have so much sex they cannot afford to pay for contraception themselves;

b) as they want "other people" to pay for the contraceptives, essentially they want other people to pay for them to have sex - meaning they are prostitutes

c) as other people would be paying for those sluts to have sex, we all want to see it and the sluts should post their sex tapes online.

usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/01/10552338-limbaugh-contraception-advocate-should-post-online-sex-videos

I'm actually at a loss for words...

What if it had been a male student that had challenged the congress?

Secondly, surely it's cheaper for the state to fund contraceptives and abortions as requested, than to fund raising god knows how many unwanted children (there's still schools, and whatnot) and in some cases social service involvement and adoption?

Every time an attack is launched on women's reproductive rights, America is, by default, showing how much it hates children. Why else would it let so many suffer needlessly? We already know America hates its women

And the student in question did not even talk about birth control. She talked about pills prescribed for medical reasons, to help PCOS or endometriosis sufferers and what happens when women with those conditions are denied access to or can't afford to pay out-of-pocket for contraception.

"For my friend, and 20 percent of the women in her situation, she never got the insurance company to cover her prescription, despite verification of her illness from her doctor. Her claim was denied repeatedly on the assumption that she really wanted the birth control to prevent pregnancy."

For her friend, who is gay, Fluke pointed out, safe sex wasn't the issue. "Without her taking the birth control, a massive cyst the size of a tennis ball had grown on her ovary," Fluke continued. "She had to have surgery to remove her entire ovary? Now, in addition to facing the health complications that come with having menopause at an early age increased risk of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis she may never be able to be a mom."

I will be quite disappointed if I find out Mr Limbaugh is getting any.

Do they have free condoms at health centres there like they do in england?

or can you get prescriped the pill ?

I laughed in shock at that article,

I know this is in the US, but this is absolutely disgusting. I'm literally shaking with rage about this

Like Franziska, I just feel so unbelievable angry about this, I actually surprised myself by how strongly revolted and furious I felt. I'm so glad we don't have nutjobs like this in the UK (well, we do, of course, but they're not accepted in mainstream media - seriously, he makes the DM seem liberal).

Archemedes, I think even when contraceptives are covered by health insurance you have to pay something towards it. None of them are 'free' like they are here.

Even my US friends with decent health insurance packages pay something towards their contraception. It could be as much as $50 a month - quite a lot when you're a student as I think this woman is.

I think it's disgusting how a large part of American society use religion as an excuse to oppress women. By denying them access to contraception, abortion, decent maternity leave and child care, I really think they are trying to keep women poor, chained to the kitchen sink and dependent on men.

One nutcase would not be so bad - the scary thing is how much support he has. Internet is full of comments like "Yeah! Why should we pay for her to have sex??"

There are so many things wrong with that kind of statements I would not know where to start..

LOL would they rather be paying for hoardes of unwanted kids, maybe someone should sit these people down to an episode of call the midwife, to see what life is like for women who have no access to bith control.

God I had the implant and pill at the sametime , on free prescription Limbaugh would be outraged at my skanky whore-ness.

it can be as much as $80 per month - my insurance only covered a small % of mine, for a while. I was on a relatively fancy pill, and my nice gp suggested I switch to the 'generic' brand, which was out-of-copyright and therefore only $25 a month. Much better, but not as good as it being free.

People wanting an IUD have to find the $500ish upfront. S'a bloody nightmare.

President Obama ended up calling Ms Fluke to apologize for how she's been treated and thank her for the testimony.

People like Limbaugh are pond scum. Interestingly he was caught trying to get into the Dominican Republic with a LOT of viagra. Sex tourism, Limbaugh? Urgggh.

Viagra is covered by health insurance isn't it?
Agree that Limbaugh and his supporters are scum. He seems untouchable though, never faces any consequences for the hateful bile he spews.

You might be interested to know that contraception isn't free in Ireland, and in fact when I was student there was a sign up at the student health centre saying that if you wanted a GP appointment for a pill prescription you had to pay (all other visits were free). As far as I know health insurance doesn't cover contraception.

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I do think that if you're having sex without intending to have a baby then it is a recreational activity and you should fund it yourself. That said, if someone needs hormone medication for a medical problem then there is no good reason to deny them that.

OK, so you have a seventeen year old, who can't afford the pill. Uses a condom. It splits. Then what? Abortion's illegal in Ireland, correct? That's potentially another unwanted child, born into poverty, potentially ruining the mothers chance at a better future in the process.

Surely it's better to have safety net, so we don't end up with these unwanted pregnancies? And surely it's better that this safety net can be extended to catch everyone, not just those who can afford it every time.

the land of the free - if you are a heterosexual white male with a job .

" know this won't be a popular opinion but I do think that if you're having sex without intending to have a baby then it is a recreational activity and you should fund it yourself. That said, if someone needs hormone medication for a medical problem then there is no good reason to deny them that."

really?? really?? You honestly think that women who want to have sex just because it is fun or part of a loving relationship should be penalised financially??

Access to contraception is generally considered as a part of basic primary healthcare because of the impact of pregnancy etc. The UK system fundamentally takes a pubic health perspective so it's not surprising that contraception is considered important. Better for the state to make sure that contraception is available with as few barriers as possible than to fund all of the costs of increased abortions, and additional pregnancy and maternity costs. Plus the likely impact of charging for contraception is that poorer people will be tempted to skimp, have unwanted pregnancies and the resulting children are much likelier to require financial support. It's not likely that anyone will have less sex (and it always seems to be missed that all those loose women are having sex with men!)

The US insurance based approach is terrible for preventative care (one of the reasons it's much more expensive).

Rush Limbaugh is a revolting specimen of humanity, but then so are all his sponsors and supporters. I know that there is a campaigning in the states to target the sponsors in the hope of getting him off the air, but given the lack of reaction to his frequent racist and disablist rants I'm not sure it will be successful.

Yes really Lulumama. "Penalised financially" is far too strong a term IMO - I'm not saying people should be fined for having sex, I'm saying if they want to have recreational sex then they should pay for the means to make it safe.

So, basically, women are just incubators, right?

Recreational sex is a privilege for those who can afford it. The rest of us should refrain to having sex only when we plan to reproduce? Is that what you're saying?

Access to contraception was one of the biggest steps forward in the progress of women's rights and a move towards equality in the home and workplace.

I can't believe there are people who disrespect women so much that they would take those rights away.

The argument over whether women should pay is a red herring - I really feel this is all about the place of women in society.

CailinDana I hope that you're quite young. If you're in your 50s and hold those views then I'm quite saddened by your lack of insight.

Well the argument over whether a woman should pay may a 'red herring' in some ways, gallic, but it's not in others. Doesn't matter how 'available' something is if people can't afford it, because if they can't afford it then it's not available to them.

Being female and sexually active costs you money, in a society where you have to pay for each pill, each PAP smear, each checkup. When my pill co-pay was $80 a month, I was getting a checkup then buying a 6 month prescription. That meant I had to find $480 up front - at the time that was half my rent! Oh, sure I could have gone back to my doctor EVERY month to get a pack, thereby spreading the payments out, but oh by the way it's a $30 co-pay just to walk in the doctor's door. So now my pill costs $110 a month. That's $1,320 just so I don't get pregnant. Not counting anything like the costs of a cervical smear or other annual gynae checkups. My partner at the time wasn't paying anyone ANYTHING to have sex without fear of becoming a father.
Of course, as we became more serious it became a joint expense. A lot of my friends were horrified at the idea, btw, of it being a 'couple' expense. But frankly, why not?

There are a lot of women now who are looking at their budgets and thinking "ok, I need that $110/80/50 to buy other things more: we'll use condoms. But then the condom splits and so she tries to get the morning after pill - but if she's under 18 she can't get it at a chemists' and if the chemist isn't open on sundays/the pharmacist on duty "don't agree with that sort of thing" then she can easily end up having to travel miles and miles to another town to get the (over the counter! legal!) drug she needs. And if she doesn't get it on time, she might end up pregnant. And even with help from Planned Parenthood, abortions cost around $500. Making women pay for their pills is going to make them a LOT more expensive than the $80 I was paying - my insurance was paying more than half of that cost for me.

And without access to contraception then women's place in society (as you noted) is in serious danger. The ability to control her own fertility is a cornerstone of any women's liberation.

AFAIK yes, Viagra is covered by most insurance plans in the US and whoops, www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-1753947.html
And he can still open his mouth and state that by paying for contraception, we are paying for someone to have sex and should therefore also get to see the tapes.
Well, not that I want to see his, but I think he might owe the general public some.

Well I'm saddened by your views anyway, you should really try to open your eyes and your views.