While I tend to lean hard to liberal, I always try to judge how far I can lean before I capsize. The current political debate is all about a woman’s right to birth control, and if Catholic employers should have to pay to insure birth control.
Some events in my life influence my opinion (which as usual, lean liberal, but not enough to drown me).
Doctors
In the 70’s, Mom’s OB-GYN refused to prescribe birth control for her because of his religious beliefs. I’m sure she waved goodbye on the way out. Poor thing was physically unable to flip someone off due to the polio.
In contrast, my Mormon doctor casually suggested I research the mechanics of how my birth control (Zovia) works. Come to find out, it is abortive. Many fertilized eggs have slid down my teflon-coated uterine wall, and I hope those cells had a fun ride. I may be wrong, but I don’t think life begins at conception.
The non-Mormon gynecologist prescribes it to me, but if the Mormon doctor refused to, I’d either use another method or find another doctor. Mormons! (Shakes fist toward Utah.) This leads me to my next story.
Rights
In the late ’80s, I went to a conference at the WordPerfect Corporation in Provo, Utah, and I tried to find a coffee machine. No coffee machines, no soda in the cafeteria. (Mormons! Everywhere with their caffeine-hating ways.) They weren’t going to be flexible, so I was. I drank milk.
But even if the Constitution had Article11, The Right to Drink Diet Coke and Caffeinated Beverages, I still couldn’t invoke my right to caffeine. Rights only apply to the government. Congress shall make no law withholding caffeine. WordPerfect may do what it wants.
And my god, my boat is tipping over to the right, but the government shouldn’t be telling a religious organization to pay for my birth control. That’s a huge conflict of church and state.
!!!
Okay then, I think all drugs are to be provided by the government (woo, boat leans left again.)
Sure, we should be a civilized society and provide free education and free health care supported by taxes. But will that be top of the line education and health care? No. (Will we end up with health care districts like school districts? Hm.) Take my pricey drug. Even if we had universal health care, that drug won’t be covered, no matter what. Gilenya isn’t going to be available to, say, the prison population. Too expensive, life-saving or not.
On the other end of the life-saving drug spectrum is the cheap drug the government should cover, the contraception. It protects me from a disease called having children. (Latin: habens infantes). And if the government covers it, I can insist on my rights, and I bet I could pick it up at the library and the post office.
Or, maybe we could have a cheap birth-control specific government insurance. Rest of your insurance pays for non-controversial stuff, then there’s a lifestyle rider for pure baby-killing contraception like mine.
Men
If the contraception debate was in the news just because the only people in the Senate debating contraception were men, well, duh, that was just moronic.
9 responses to “Rights”
As a Moderate,I declare that we will overcome the Christian Right Taliban.
Including the idiot from Indiana who has declared the Girl Scouts to be a lesbian making tentacle of Planed Parenthood.
Nutsy BoBo.
Our medical system is a mess.
Zayrina – He has a wonky lopsided face. I don’t trust him.Hattie – But, is there one better?All – I have a question. There are two ways to interpret “Everyone has a right to affordable health care.”A: “Everyone has a right to the best quality health care, made affordable.”orB: “Everone has a right to the most affordable health care we have right now, generic Tier 1 prescriptions, etc.”I realized today I’ve been using the A interpretation, but that the B interpretation works too.So, which is your automatic interpretation?
I would settle quite happily for B.
Zayrina- Yes, both good choices,but, did you automatically assume the phrase meant B when you’ve heard it before? If so, I have two As and one B.
I’m a solid B. What I hope for is that everyone has some access to at least a basic health care benefit. You have only to volunteer in a rural or urban free clinic to see the true horror of no health care.
Mare – That ties it up. 2 As, 2 Bs.
“…but the government shouldn’t be telling a religious organization to pay for my birth control. That’s a huge conflict of church and state.”
Churches, no, they shouldn’t. If you want birth control, don’t work for the church. However, it’s not just about churches, it’s about people who run companies choosing health care for their employees based on the bosses’ religious beliefs.
What would you say if you heard about for a company run by a Christian Scientist who refused to provide health insurance for his/her employees because medical care was in conflict with his/her beliefs?
If we bend for Catholics, we have to bend for all religions. It’s not just about the rich religions.
Hot Mom – I would not work for that company any longer. We worked for a small company, and we knew someone who had problems ‘Eliot’ did business with our friend Planned Parenthood. She left. If my religious views were in conflict with my boss, I’d leave. Benefits are one of the reasons I work for Teddy. If TeddyJ had a sudden conversion and refused birth control, screw him, I’d leave. If I worked for Dominos and they pulled that I’d leave. Eliot didn’t provide good enough insurance initially, I know a guy with seven kids who left. I don’t see quitting as bending, I guess. If you don’t work for the state you have to enter into an agreement with your employer, and I guess if “corporations are people” they can havce opinions, and if opinions don’t gel you break up. I think if Eliot converted to Islam and demanded everyone wear burkas, that would be the rule and I could leave if I liked.