Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Jujitsu

From Instapundit:
I THINK IT’S A SMART GOP MOVE:  A half-dozen GOP Senators have signed onto a bill sponsored by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) that would require drug companies that sell contraceptives to file an OTC (over-the-counter) request with the FDA.  It’s a smart move to battle the inane #waronwomen accusation incessantly hurled at the GOP.  But guess who opposes this move?
The Colorado Republican’s push to make birth control available over-the-counter is not winning him more allies among women’s reproductive health groups, however.
Groups like Planned Parenthood have opposed the idea, which they argue could drive up contraception prices.
The group has pointed to ObamaCare’s contraception mandate — requiring insurance plans to cover all FDA-approved forms of birth control — and said that insurers may no longer cover the medication if it’s not prescribed by a doctor.
So let me get this straight: A coalition of GOP Senators is trying to make contraceptives more readily available to women by making them OTC, but liberal/progressive groups like Planned Parenthood oppose the idea, simply because women might actually have to pay for their contraceptives rather than get them free?  Besides, I’m not convinced that merely making contraceptives OTC would alter Obamacare’s mandate that they be provided for free.  Seems to me Planned Parenthood’s opposition is purely ideological: They can’t stand the idea that their #waronwomen narrative against Republicans could be proven patently false. Plus, far fewer women (especially young women) will need to go to Planned Parenthood if they can just go to the local drugstore and obtain contraceptives.  That would leave Planned Parenthood mostly in the business of STD testing, pregnancy testing and abortions.

1 comment:

  1. Well, first, stop misusing the word free, everyone. You pay for birth control, you r rates go down. And.. i am currently taking a prescription drufg which is absolutely available over the counter -- but my policy covers it. So, it's not one or the other. Second … am I not living in the same world where Planned Parenthood gives out condoms to anyone who wants them as funded by donations? Third, if you increase the number os sellers of any product, price falls. period.

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