Is Birth Control Preventive Medicine?

By Kate Pickert | @katepickert | October 13, 2010 | +

Over on TIME’s healthy version of Swampland, I have a post up about the controversy over including contraception as a “preventive service” under the Affordable Care Act. Planned Parenthood says yes; the Catholic bishops say no. Kathleen Sebelius will make the final call.

Related Topics: Health Care

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http://www.ghostnote.com Juan Valdez

That settles it. Next time I need surgery I’m calling Father Ted. Arse! Feck! Ted!
kbanginmotown

Galileo says: “In 500 years, the Catholic Bishops will come around…”
http://forgottenlord.livejournal.com forgottenlord

Contraceptives, yes. Contraceptives, particularly ones that you don’t need to grab out of your pocket prior to having sex (eg: the Pill and the Morning after pill) help prevent you from getting an unwanted burden of cost – notably the cost of having a physician monitor the health of the child and the cost of delivery.
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While we’re close to the issue, Abortion would not be a preventative measure as it is an alternate solution to an existing condition rather than preventing a new condition from happening.
http://gum0nshoe.wordpress.com gumOnShoe

In a sense, yes, but does preventative medicine mean medicine to avoid any condition in your body or does it mean illnesses?

I mean, cyanide might be preventative medicine if your goal is to not breath the next day…
chupkar

Sometimes I just want to gouge my eyes out. OK, the next time a bishop has uteral lining that is 12 and 13 mm thick, causing multiple periods a month and other excessive troubles, I’ll let him decide if contraceptives are preventative or not. Until he has that pleasure, he should just shut the h*ll up.
deconstructiva

Well, ya think that BC pills are supposed to prevent a certain thing from happening, otherwise might as well pop tic-tacs. BTW, Kate, are you going to blog here about this link (that you tweeted) with more thoughts?
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http://www.offthechartsblog.org/hhs-prevents-insurers-from-undercutting-key-reform-for-children%E2%80%99s-coverage/
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,,,and read your HL post about your dog Lola, congrats.
textee

Obamao thinks that killing infants who survive abortions is “health care”. Obamao explained that its preventive medicine because killing those infants prevents a “burden” from being placed on the mother of those soon to be executed infants. http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2008/02/links_to_barack.html

Will Obamao’s fellow, vile abortion enthusiast Kathleen Sebelius “make the final call” on that one too?

BTW, can we get another million “Affordable Care Act” references from Kate Pickert, please?
apr2563

Yes, I want my health decisions made by Catholic bishops. I guess they would be horrified by how many Catholic women already use birth control, have had a tubal ligation, or their significant other has had a vasectomy.
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Since their minds are still in medieval times and they still regard women as breeders and subserviant, not worthy of their higher status, they must be included in women’s medical welfare.
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Why is there even consideration of there point of view?
http://forgottenlord.livejournal.com forgottenlord

See, here’s where your logic falls apart.
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1) Contraceptives aren’t restricted to abortion. In fact, by definition, abortion isn’t technically a contraceptive. From dictionary.com:
“tending or serving to prevent conception or impregnation”
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Since abortion is after conception has happened, abortion isn’t technically a contraceptive, it just has a tendency to get lumped in.
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In fact, the vast majority of contraceptives used each year are not abortions. Condoms and birth control pills easily outpace instances of abortion. Even most abortion opponents are generally in favor of contraceptives. So really, the question being asked is whether condoms and birth control pills and morning after pills and Plan B pills and the thousand other pharmaceuticals or devices meant to assist in preventing pregnancies should be covered.
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Even dumber is the idea that just because we consider contraceptives worth considering for preventative medicine status means all contraceptives are covered. You could make a very good argument that the Plan B drug is not a preventative medicine but that a condom or birth control pills are as the latter prevent the pregnancy before you had sex while the Plan B drug prevents pregnancy after you had sex.
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Finally, there’s the sheer fact that even if Abortion were considered a preventative measure, Sebelius still couldn’t do it because the law makes it so you have to buy abortion coverage separately anyways, meaning that the standard care that has to be covered under the preventative measures section by insurance companies would be contradictory to that clause.
apr2563

chupkar: Nicely done.
m0mentom0ri

Is Viagra preventative medicine?
destor23

Are Catholic bishops medical professionals?

If not, you should probably quote other radical clerics in a piece like this.
sacredh

I’ll make the Bishops a deal. You shut the f**k up about medical practices and I won’t advise altar boys to wear butt plugs.
afguy

Not touching THAT one with a ten-foot… oh, never mind!
kbanginmotown

Aye, Billy! Th’ communion wafers are in th’ bott’m drawer…
allthingsinaname

only if Viagra is.
apr2563

When men start to have menstrual cycles, have to do the child bearing, and go through menopause then I might be concerned about their opinion about women’s reproductive rights and treatment.
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You know when God was handing out body parts to men and women, there was one appendage left. It was called a p*nis. St Peter asked what he should do with it, and God said give it to the stupid one.
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Sorry guys. This was meant for the “knuckle draggers”.
apr2563

Correction: She said give it to the stupid one.
nflfoghorn

Didn’t need that imagery so early in the morning
grape_crush

And here I thought The Pill was used as a preventative for ovarian cancer…and that condom use (barrier contraception) was supposed to reduce the risk of cervical cancer.
sacredh

“You know when God was handing out body parts to men and women, there was one appendage left. It was called a p*nis.”
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We were so poor when I was growing up that if mom hadn’t cut a hole in my pocket I wouldn’t have had anything to play with. Thanks mom. Love ya. Still grateful.