Health insurance plans must cover birth control as preventive care for women, with no copays, the Obama administration said Monday in a decision with far-reaching implications for health care as well as social mores.
The requirement is part of a broad expansion of coverage for women’s preventive care under President Barack Obama’s health care law. Also to be covered without copays are breast pumps for nursing mothers, an annual “well-woman” physical, screening for the virus that causes cervical cancer and for diabetes during pregnancy, counseling on domestic violence, and other services. . . The new requirements will take effect Jan. 1, 2013, in most cases. Tens of millions of women are expected to gain coverage initially, and that number is likely to grow with time.
So let’s not rush to condemn Obama outright. He is doing some important things. Unless you are convinced that a Republican president will not overturn these measures, then, please, don’t say that it doesn’t matter who wins the 2012 elections.
This one measure will do more for lowering the rates of abortion than decades of anti-choice screechings.
Clarissa's Blog 
No, Clarissa, we must condemn Obama outright. Because he is attempting to do what even some third-world, developing countries have done far earlier, does not mean he is Deliverance. Having a far more horrifying alternative does not mean the lesser evil is peaches and cream. Already the American people have been pushed to such a servile position that they’d have to accept with gratitude a President who does the barest minimum possible for them. The least they can do, I think, is not to swallow the PR about his awesomeness. A great deal is still owed that will never be paid to them.
In a way, this situation reminds me of the original of your egotistic-boss post. The original poster’s attitude towards the 17-point-memo boss is exactly the same as the liberal attitude towards Obama. “Oh, we know he did some utterly shocking things that make him look like a Republican in Democrat clothing, but he does do some nice things, I swear”. Except that these ‘nice things’ shouldn’t drop as crumbs from a table. Most developed countries would consider these rights, not charitable concessions.
LikeLike
I agree with Clarissa here. Americans as a whole are ridiculously prejudiced against birth control. And in some ways, I will be surprised if this sticks. We can’t ignore the realities of our country. For the U.S., this policy is extremely wonderful news and represents a tremendous step forward for women’s reproductive rights.
On another note, I am also disappointed in Obama–particularly in relation to domestic and economic policy. Still, we also need to recognize the forces that he is up against. He is caught in an almost unwinnable situation with the conservative right. This is off the subject a bit but I think that liberals (and I count myself an extreme liberal) are all soured by the debt deal right now. But we need to recognize that there is some good news in the deal (defense cuts for instance.) If this budget vote happened in the context of a Republican administration with a Tea Party congress, I think the cuts would have been catastrophic. Also, keep in mind that the deal gives a ten year time frame with which to cut spending and the democrats were able to backload a great deal of the domestic spending cuts. And if we elect a liberal congress, congress can _repeal_ many of the cuts. So this is a long way of saying that I think Clarissa is right. We need to make sure that we don’t give up and that we keep on voting. We need to get the tea-partiers out of office so Obama can do his job. He will always be a moderate and more conservative than I would personally like but I do think that we need to recognize that he much better for the country than Bush or any conservative politician.
Just my two cents! 🙂
LikeLike
There’s already conservatives complaining about this, saying that it will lead to America being a “dying civilization”. Really? Sheesh.
LikeLike
this is such a great thing and will cut down on unwanted pregnancies. my daughter is 23 and pays a $40 copay that she can barely afford as it stands. she needs the meds to prevent cysts so she does not even have a choice in the matter. This is half a days pay for her. Jan 2013 can not come soon enough.
LikeLike