Oklahoma May Deny Women Affordable Birth Control

[AtroposHeart]

Oklahoma already prevents women from using their insurance plans to help cover abortion services, but Republicans aren’t stopping there. One state lawmaker wants to continue stripping insurance coverage for reproductive health services, advancing a measure that would allow employers to refuse to cover birth control for any reason — based solely on the fact that one of his constituents believes it “poisons women’s bodies.â€

Under State Sen. Clark Jolley ®â€™s measure, “no employer shall be required to provide or pay for any benefit or service related to abortion or contraception through the provision of health insurance to his or her employees.†According to the Tulsa World, Jolley’s inspiration for his bill came from one of his male constituents who is morally opposed to birth control, and wanted to find a small group insurance plan for himself and his family that didn’t include coverage for those services:

Jolley said the measure is the result of a request from a constituent, Dr. Dominic Pedulla, an Oklahoma City cardiologist who describes himself as a natural family planning medical consultant and women’s health researcher. [...]

Women are worse off with contraception because it suppresses and disables who they are, Pedulla said.

“Part of their identity is the potential to be a mother,†Pedulla said. “They are being asked to suppress and radically contradict part of their own identity, and if that wasn’t bad enough, they are being asked to poison their bodies.â€

The bill has already cleared a Senate Health committee and now makes it way to Oklahoma’s full Senate. It is unlikely that either Jolley and Pedulla themselves rely on insurance coverage for hormonal contraceptive services — but if the measure becomes law, the two men could limit the health insurance options for the nearly two million women who live in Oklahoma.

Of course, contraception does not actually poison women. The FDA approved the first oral birth control pill in 1960, and that type of contraception is so safe that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends making it available without a prescription, as it is in most other countries around the world. Furthermore, considering that over 99 percent of women of reproductive age have used some form of birth control, the Oklahoma women who rely on insurance coverage for their contraception would likely disagree with Pedulla’s assertion that it “suppresses and radically contradicts part of their own identity.â€

In reality, access to affordable birth control is a critical economic issue for women. When women have control over their reproductive choices, it allows them to achieve economic goals like completing their education, becoming financially independent, or keeping a job. But birth control can carry high out-of-pocket costs, and over half of young women say they haven’t used their contraceptive method as directed because of cost prohibitions. Nonetheless, Republican lawmakers have repeatedly pushed measures to allow employers to drop coverage for birth control.

Wow, along with the scientific dumbness of this we also get a nice spoon full of sexism.

Women=Mother, and that is all she is good for.

If you are against birth control, then you are for women and children growing up in poverty. That is what I always say.

[Claddagh]

Makes me glad I don't live in Oklahoma.

I'd like to ask these people what about the women who have to take birth control for medical reasons? Are you going to deny them medical coverage or safety?

Women are worse off with contraception because it suppresses and disables who they are, Pedulla said.

“Part of their identity is the potential to be a mother,†Pedulla said. “They are being asked to suppress and radically contradict part of their own identity, and if that wasn’t bad enough, they are being asked to poison their bodies.â€

What if a woman doesn't want to be a mother? Being a parent isn't for everybody and it's probably better for a woman who doesn't want a kid to be on birth control then straddled with a kid she doesn't want!

Someone remind this guy we're in 2013, not 1850.

[pixydust]

There are so many fails in this that I don't know where to start. The expert is a cardiologist?!? My heart and my vag are not one and the same, nor is my reproductive system so simple that any Dr can be an expert on it.

[valsa]

Yet another sad sign that gradually chipping away women's reproductive rights has worked. Why would "pro-life" people need to worry about overturning Roe v. Wade when this is where we find ourselves?

[Blahblah]

What about non-chemical birth control such as non-hormone IUD's that require surgical insertion?

Eta:I'm not advocating this as an alternative by the way. I'm asking on what grounds they would try to curtail that option.

[Childless]

That's it. If I ever get the opportunity to move to a more progressive country, I'm taking it. This is ridiculous! I'm more than my reproductive system. It's MY choice on when or if I have children, not some moron in Oklahoma who thinks its his job to tell me what to do. Hopefully, the Oklahoma Senate has enough members with half a brain in their heads to kill this bill. If this idiot doctor is against birth control, then I suggest he not use it. He doesn't have the right to make that choice for everyone else.

I wonder how he'll feel about more of his tax dollars being used to support all of these unplanned babies?

[KBepote]

Makes me glad I don't live in Oklahoma.

I think that part of the problem in our country is that every time one of these horrible stories comes out, countless people react with "glad I don't live there" or "I'm so ashamed to live in this state." (Not just on FreeJinger, but all over the internet).

The reality is that these bills are being proposed all over the US. Yes, it's worse in certain states, but I think our tendency to blame individual states for this behavior instead of looking at it as a Country Problem is doing a lot of damage. We, as a people, are much less likely to fight for our rights when it seems like we have the option of moving to the next state over.

The reality is that even if you have the financial means and job prospects to relocate (and are willing to leave your support network to do so), the chipping away of women's rights (and refusal to provide rights to homosexuals, maintain the rights of minorities, etc) is a sickness that is infecting our entire country.

[KBepote]

That's it. If I ever get the opportunity to move to a more progressive country, I'm taking it. This is ridiculous! I'm more than my reproductive system. It's MY choice on when or if I have children, not some moron in Oklahoma who thinks its his job to tell me what to do. Hopefully, the Oklahoma Senate has enough members with half a brain in their heads to kill this bill. If this idiot doctor is against birth control, then I suggest he not use it. He doesn't have the right to make that choice for everyone else.

I wonder how he'll feel about more of his tax dollars being used to support all of these unplanned babies?

I'm with you. Recently, my husband applied for a job in Austria - oh we were hopeful. Alas, we are still stuck in the old US of A.

As to the bolded: Don't forget that these same legislators work to systematically gut medicaid, food stamps, WIC, and every other social service every chance they get. If they had it their way, women would not work, be pregnant constantly, uninsured if their husband's don't "work hard enough" to have employer-based insurance and have no financial support other than their husbands/families and churches. If they dare to be unmarried/abused/raped, well, that's their fault.

[RosyDaisy]

“Part of their identity is the potential to be a mother,â€

Umm....no it isn't. But clearly they think that their identity as men is tied to being able to knock up women.

[PennySycamore]

That goddam asshole of a doctor should focus on cardiology and stay out of women's reproductive tracts.

[pixydust]

and another thing! I'm so sick and tired of people acting like the only people on the pill are baby hating 20 somethings sleeping around. I'm 35. I am married. I have given birth to 3 babies. I am on the pill. I think that there are many, many women who are like me.

[merrily]

Ooh can we cut his access to Viagra?

[BravaAmica]

I think that part of the problem in our country is that every time one of these horrible stories comes out, countless people react with "glad I don't live there" or "I'm so ashamed to live in this state." (Not just on FreeJinger, but all over the internet).

The reality is that these bills are being proposed all over the US. Yes, it's worse in certain states, but I think our tendency to blame individual states for this behavior instead of looking at it as a Country Problem is doing a lot of damage. We, as a people, are much less likely to fight for our rights when it seems like we have the option of moving to the next state over.

The reality is that even if you have the financial means and job prospects to relocate (and are willing to leave your support network to do so), the chipping away of women's rights (and refusal to provide rights to homosexuals, maintain the rights of minorities, etc) is a sickness that is infecting our entire country.

Um, not every state legislature proposes bills like this. My home state hasn't proposed a bill to limit contraception access or abortion access. So, yeah, I do live in a state that I'm proud to call home and I left a state that's in a race to the bottom with Mississippi and Oklahoma.

[RosyDaisy]

Ooh can we cut his access to Viagra?

We should. If women are denied coverage for birth control, then men should be denied coverage for ED drugs.

[Vex]

I just wrote an essay on the republicans and how they're basically using their Christianity to usher in anti-abortion laws, I wish I'd been able to include this dreck but I submitted it two days ago.

I agree, let's cut access to viagra (and vasectomies, I think, since it's an operation that causes a preshus babby to not be formed) and see how they like it.

[desertvixen]

Jolley said the measure is the result of a request from a constituent, Dr. Dominic Pedulla, an Oklahoma City cardiologist who describes himself as a natural family planning medical consultant and women’s health researcher. [...]

Women are worse off with contraception because it suppresses and disables who they are, Pedulla said.

“Part of their identity is the potential to be a mother,†Pedulla said. “They are being asked to suppress and radically contradict part of their own identity, and if that wasn’t bad enough, they are being asked to poison their bodies.â€

Yes, part of being a woman is the potential to be a mother (ie, we have the whole plumbing setup that makes it possible). But not all of us are into being a baby factory. I have one child, and I would like to have another, but until then, it's birth control all the way.

[Effie]

Jolley said the measure is the result of a request from a constituent, Dr. Dominic Pedulla, an Oklahoma City cardiologist who describes himself as a natural family planning medical consultant and women’s health researcher. [...]

Women are worse off with contraception because it suppresses and disables who they are, Pedulla said.

“Part of their identity is the potential to be a mother,†Pedulla said. “They are being asked to suppress and radically contradict part of their own identity, and if that wasn’t bad enough, they are being asked to poison their bodies.â€

I don't buy that fake concern. Disgusting.

[ADoyle90815]

and another thing! I'm so sick and tired of people acting like the only people on the pill are baby hating 20 somethings sleeping around. I'm 35. I am married. I have given birth to 3 babies. I am on the pill. I think that there are many, many women who are like me.

This. There are plenty of women such as myself who originally got on the pill for medical reasons that have nothing to do with preventing an unplanned pregnancy. I actually consider the side effect of preventing pregnancy to be a good thing since I've been hit by the recession in that I was laid off, there was no way I could afford a child, even if I was married and wanted one. After all, assholes like this doctor also want to cut medicaid and other things that would provide for children people couldn't afford.

[Effie]

Makes me glad I don't live in Oklahoma.

I'd like to ask these people what about the women who have to take birth control for medical reasons? Are you going to deny them medical coverage or safety?

Yes exactly! Something that would disable me is being denied access to contraceptive pills. I have a hormonal imbalance, which must be treated with contraceptive pills. If I lived in Oklahoma, I would demand the law-makers to compensate for the work days I would lose, since I would have to stay home from work... It's not reasonable to expect anyone to work, when she suffers from fatigue, dizziness, vomiting and fainting. (The pill has helped me get rid of all those symptoms. I don't want that nightmare back again. I can't see how anyone letting me endure that hell would act in my best interest.)

To clarify, I don't see this bill as well-intentioned in any way.

[merrily]

Why do fundies insist on having women living like Angela in Angela's Ashes? Having umpteenth kids, no birth control, an unemployed/alchoholic husband isn't sunshine and giggles! The author made it clear that his Irish Catholic childhood was hell on earth. Fundies want to bring THAT here?

[pixydust]

This. There are plenty of women such as myself who originally got on the pill for medical reasons that have nothing to do with preventing an unplanned pregnancy. I actually consider the side effect of preventing pregnancy to be a good thing since I've been hit by the recession in that I was laid off, there was no way I could afford a child, even if I was married and wanted one. After all, assholes like this doctor also want to cut medicaid and other things that would provide for children people couldn't afford.

I'm on the pill for medical reasons, too. But honestly, I think that it doesn't matter why a woman is on the pill, we have the right to recieve our prescribed medications, and have it be covered by our insurances.

[EmiGirl]

I just wrote an essay on the republicans and how they're basically using their Christianity to usher in anti-abortion laws, I wish I'd been able to include this dreck but I submitted it two days ago.

I agree, let's cut access to viagra (and vasectomies, I think, since it's an operation that causes a preshus babby to not be formed) and see how they like it.

I hate that they use Christianity to back their views when I'd be willing to bet most Christians (like myself) are pro birth control.

[LostSamurai]

Most Christians that I know of are fine with birth control.