Dropping the pretense in the war on contraception

[ProSense]

Dropping the pretense in the war on contraception

By Steve Benen

As far as the White House is concerned, Friday's compromise on contraception coverage effectively ends the matter. Religiously affiliated institutions won't be required to pay for birth control, but women who work for these employers will still have access to the same preventive care as everyone else. As Tricia noted earlier, the West Wing doesn't see anything else to talk about.

Congressional Republicans strongly disagree. Indeed, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) raised quite a few eyebrows yesterday when he endorsed a controversial proposal to allow all American employers to deny women contraception coverage altogether.

"You know if we end up having to try to overcome the President's opposition by legislation, of course, I'd be happy to support it and intend to support it. It would be difficult as long as the President is rigid in his view that he gets to decide what somebody else's religion is. I assume he would veto it. But yeah, we will be voting on that in the Senate. And you can anticipate that that would happen as soon as possible."

Even McConnell couldn't believe the president wants to "decide what somebody else's religion is." It's such a strikingly dumb comment, chances are, the senator just got carried away in the moment.

But the larger concern has nothing to do with rhetoric, and everything to do with the GOP's increasingly-aggressive war on contraception. McConnell told CBS's Bob Schieffer, "The fact that the White House thinks this is about contraception is the whole problem. This is about freedom of religion."

At this point in the debate, that's just absurd.

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http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/13/10395912-dropping-the-pretense-in-the-war-on-contraception

[Aerows]

1. It's absolutely ridiculous

Someone should inform McConnell that many women take contraceptives for medical reasons, not for contraception. If he wasn't an idiot, he'd know that, but alas, too many men on the right don't have any fucking idea about women's health. They think every woman is a baby factory and they never have problems like ovarian cysts or hormonal issues that can be regulated by BC.

When somebody's religion gets in the way of other people getting medical treatment, then there is something wrong with that religion. When a religion preaches that it's better for people to die or live with a perfectly treatable condition just because it says so, they don't deserve a voice in regards to people's medical decisions, period.

Not like anyone has a right to other people's medical decisions anyway, but it's just heinous that we have an organization like the Catholic church trying to interfere to the degree that they have in women's health issues. Would they tell a man to stop taking a medication that improved his health or saved his life? We all know the answer to that question, so why in the hell are they trying to do it to women?

[justiceischeap]

3. He likely knows that, as do his Congressional co-horts

They are the one's making it about religion when what it's really about is health care, and apparently the GOP and Catholic churches hatred of women.

[lapislzi]

4. He knows it.

But why let facts get in the way of making political hay?

If you were living in a cave and suddenly emerged into the glare of faux news, you would be forgiven for thinking that contraceptives were being forced down the throats or into the bodies of women by a godless monolith despite their religious objections, and that religious entities were being denied their rights and compelled to subsidize such tortures.

[niyad]

2. k and r