Sex, babies, bills, and pills…

So this weeks ARTICLE/VIDEO is somewhat more focused toward women (sorry guys) and centers on the issue of mandating that all women have access to birth control pills (or whatever contraception method one may desire). Some religious organizations (from the Catholic Church to religious educational institutions) are crying fowl, saying not only that the government can’t mandate anything, but also is guilty of abridging religious freedoms. On the other side are the more left-leaning groups who have been accused of wanting to hand out pills, rings, and whatnot to all.

I’ve got my opinion, but would like to hear from you. Is it a good idea for women to have free access to contraceptives? Do you think such a mandate will result increased sexual activity and is that a bad thing? Moreover, is it the government’s job to force society in such a direction?

Thoughts?

12 responses to “Sex, babies, bills, and pills…”

  1. Ariana Hansen says:

    I think that contraceptives should have free access to women because it gives them the option of staying safe. Some women feel as though buying condoms are a waste of money, yet they are the ones who are brining children into this world and not taking care of them. People also feel like contraceptives are expensive which is why some women do not use them. I do not think that free access will increase sexual activity. People are going to have sex regardless so why not have the option of free contraceptives. Some women bring children into this world and then either end up abandoning them or not taking care of them properly. This way, the consequences of sex would be known and birth control can be a form of preventing those consequences. I don’t think that society should force people in a certain direction, it should be up to each individual.

  2. Joey Pierron says:

    Overall, it is pretty obvious that this will be a very polarized issue. In my opinion though, I believe it is a good move. I’m not a woman, so I can’t really speak from experience, but I do think that all women should have access to birth control if they want it, and it should be covered by insurance. Logically speaking, even though it may cost more right now, I do agree with the notion that in the long run this could level out cost wise. Since, women’s health would improve, as well as (Ideally) fewer child births. As far as the issue whether this will increase sexual activity, I don’t think that will happen. In my opinion, I don’t necessarily think that the government is forcing anything per se. When i think about this issue I think of all the women who want birth control, but can’t afford because it isn’t covered by their insurance. If this move can get these women birth control, and reduce child births of people who aren’t trying to get pregnant, and as a result lowers expenses in the future i’m all for it. To conclude, I think it is important to note, that this is a compromise. These religious affiliations can opt out of of the federal mandate. Therefore, it is for that reason that I don’t view the government as forcing anything. Again, this is my personal opinion, but I think if women want birth control they should be able to get it.

  3. Mariah Galarza says:

    Women having the option of having any type of FREE contraceptive is one of the best things that could be given to women. There is a large number of women (young adults) who are either not insured or cant afford health insurance to provide them with a monthly dose of birth control. Having free birth control, of their choice, would allow women the opportunity to have it/ use it. The pros in my opinion of free birth control would be less unwanted pregnancies, regularity of menstrual cycles, and less abortions. These are just a few of the positives, it would also provide a security mentally and emotionally for the women because they know it there chance of getting pregnant would slim down even more. Also teen pregnancy rates would decrease if birth control was free, they would have the option if sexually active to be protected. But there are cons to every proposal, the negatives may be a raise in taxes, who is paying for all this free birth control? more sexual activity, more unprotected sexual activity and there may be a rise in sexual transmitted diseases. All in all i believe they should try providing free birth control as a trial and error for a year and monitor the numbers of pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and how many women actually maintain a monthly supply of their free dosage.

  4. Laura Schwartz says:

    There is no doubt that this is a very controversial topic. I think that giving women access to free birth control is one of the best moves that the government could make. There are so many women out there that want birth control but their insurance doesn’t cover it. This makes it very expensive for anyone to keep up with the expenses of life as well as making sure they are up to date with their form of birth control. Giving women free access to contraceptives would also most likely reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies which is also becoming a problem for the United States as a whole. I do not see many downfalls to the idea of free contraceptives other than how the government plans to pay for this. Even if taxes were to increase, I believe this is better than having an unwanted pregnancy and trying to make ends meet all the time. I do not think that giving women free contraceptives would increase sexual activity because, in my opinion, people are going to do what they want to do regardless. In my opinion, the government isn’t forcing anything because religious affiliations can opt out and they are helping a lot of women with a problem that could possibly affect the rest of their lives.

  5. Jessica Ortiz says:

    I feel that giving the woman the option to get free contraceptives is a great idea for woman to make a decision for their selves if they want to take the pill or what ever birth control they desire. i feel that if woman would have to pay for these then more women and teen girls would be pregnant. i feel that taking the pill is just precaution and a smart decision on not wanting to get pregnant. i feel that it is not forcing anything because of religious affiliation.

  6. Amber Nichols says:

    I think it is a great idea for women to have access to free contraceptives. There are a lot of women in the states who can’t afford to pay for contraceptives regularly; which is a shame because it doesn’t only prevent unwanted pregnancies, but offers women a lot of other health benefits such as regulate menstrual cycles, help with skin care, migraines, and numerous other health issues. I don’t think offering free contraceptives will result in increased sexual activities, because (to be honest) people will and are engaging in such activities regardless. However, I think this mandate will help with a lot unwanted and unplanned pregnancies. It could also result in a decrease in nationwide abortions and, as the article stated, lower expenses in the long run. I don’t think the government is forcing anyone because they are religious organizations opt out of the mandate if it is against their beliefs and they are not forcing individuals to take any contraceptives, but rather giving them the option to do so if they wish without the financial burden.

  7. Taysia Justus says:

    I do think that the option of free birth control for women is a good thing. I was raised in a Christian and still have these views. There is no law saying that a woman HAS to be on birth control, therefore it is up to the woman if she will choose to use it or not based on her morals and views on it. Unfortunately teen pregnancy is on a rise, and with access to free birth control I feel like this could start to be controlled. Basically, it is up to the woman if she is going to have sex or not, so it’s up to her if she will choose birth control or not. Nobody is forcing birth control upon these women.

  8. Kate Hazelbauer says:

    This is one of the most controversial issues in our society right now and I believe that women should be able to receive FREE birth control. Free birth control does NOT mean that the amount of sex will increase, it just means that the people who are having sex are have SAFE sex. People are going to have sex whether or not the women are taking birth control. I believe that religious affiliations should not have a say in whether or not the birth control should be insured and therefore free for women. It is the religious beliefs that say that unwed pregnancies are “sinful”, et cetera. However, if women could receive contraceptives free of charge, there would be fewer pregnancies, especially teen pregnancies or pregnancies due to rape. Whether to be on birth control or not is the woman’s choice and therefore the religious affiliations should have no say. Free birth control is a good thing because it beats having to pay in the range of $7.00-$32.00–some of the contraceptive options are expensive and some people just can’t afford the monthly cost.

  9. Kirstyn Behling says:

    I think that making contraceptives available to women at no cost would be extremely beneficial. I believe that if women are given the option, it will actually prove cheaper in the long run. Enabling the women to have contraceptives as an option, at the very least, makes plenty of sense to me. And regarding those groups who disagree, I feel that the people who believe that a woman’s body has the ability to “shut down” in cases of rape, etc., shouldn’t exactly be the people to tell women what they can and can not do. And just because a woman is given the option, doesn’t mean that they’re going to take it. Those who do take it will be being safer with the available contraceptives, which can only increase feminine health. I feel this would be very beneficial. It just makes sense to me.

  10. Kelsey Holmes says:

    I believe that insurance should cover birth control for all women. Women who can not afford birth control, or do not have free access to it, are not going to not have sex. I think women will still have sex, but it will be more unsafe than if they are on birth control. Having free access is not going to increase the amount of sexual activity, it is going to happen regardless, but at least with free access to birth control, they are doing it safely. I do not think anyone has a right to tell a woman whether she can or cannot take birth control, I believe it is a personal choice for the woman, but having the government grant access to free birth control saves the women who could not afford it, to now have access to it, lowering their chances of getting pregnant and not being able to provide for their child. This will help the continuing decline of child births, especially in teen pregnancies.

  11. Jenna Otterholt says:

    I think that the law should require “all or nothing” as far as free contraceptives go. It isn’t really fair if some companies can opt out. That makes absolutely no sense in my opinion. What is the point of making a law that only applies to certain people? It should either be all women get free contraceptives or all have to pay. I am kind of on the fence as far as that topic. As a female, I would prefer to not have to pay for birth control. On the other hand, there are a lot of women and girls for that matter that are taking advantage of the system. I think if you are responsible enough to engage in sexual activity you should be responsible enough to pay for your own birth control. Back to the first point, I contradict myself because I would be angry if I had to pay for mine. It is definitely a controversial subject.

  12. Richard Birkholz says:

    The way I look at this mandate is that it still takes away the freedom of choice.Still here we are in the 21st century with no separation between church and state,in my opinion women she aways have the choice, it is thier body.

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