We scored another win for liberty and the Constitution this week, though the left can’t see it, of course. Friday, the Trump administration lifted the Obama era restrictions requiring employers to provide insurance that pays for contraceptives. Pro-life conservatives are thrilled, but the ironically named ACLU is already suing.
Trump Administration Loosens the Noose
Under the Affordable Care Act, nearly all employers were required to provide insurance covering 18 types of FDA-approved contraceptives. Houses of worship and a few grandfathered employers were exempt, but everyone anyone else who wanted to opt-out was required to go through a process that many challenged as difficult.
Now, any privately-owned company will only need to assert a good-faith objection based on religious or moral beliefs and notify their employees.
Naturally, the collective left is losing what’s left of its mind.
Nancy “Know-Nothing” Pelosi
Once again demonstrating her complete lack of understanding of, well, pretty much anything, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi weighed in with a trifecta of incorrect statements.
False statement numero uno:
“The Trump Administration’s despicable new rule reaches into the lives of hundreds of thousands of women, overrules their right to basic preventative care and forces them to pay a huge new cost.”
A 12-count pack of Trojans costs $7.47 + tax at Walmart – that’s less than 65 cents a pop – and some places even hand condoms out for free. For birth control pills, the average prescription ranges between $20 and $50 a month for the uninsured, depending on both the type of pill and the patient’s pharmacy of choice. Additionally, many pharmacies, like the aforementioned Walmart, carry generic birth control that runs about $9 a month. That’s hardly “a huge new cost.”
For those who legitimately can’t afford these preventative measures, chances are their household incomes are well below the cut-off for Medicaid, which pays for a variety of contraceptive options.
Go ahead Congresswoman, give it another try:
“This Administration’s contempt for women reaches a new low with this appalling decision to enable employers and health plans to deny women basic coverage for contraception.”
Nope. Allowing employers to opt-out of insurance plans that cover contraceptives doesn’t actually deny those preventative measures to anyone. They’re still just as available to the uninsured, though they might cost more – and then, they might not if you factor in the monthly premium and any co-pay the uninsured don’t pay. Besides, not every employer will opt-out and there will still be insurance plans available outside of the workplace that cover contraceptives.
Last, but certainly not least:
“No woman should be subject to the whim of her employer to access the affordable contraception that is her right.”
The Constitution doesn’t address healthcare at all – and it certainly doesn’t guarantee the right to free or cheap contraceptives. Where exactly did this right come from again? Oh, that’s right; Democrats just want it to be in the Constitution. Well, that’s three strikes. Let’s give Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA) her wish and kick Pelosi to the curb.
The ACLU Once Again Belies its Name
Once again, the American Civil Liberty Union belies its name by demonstrating a complete lack of understanding of liberty:
“The Trump Administration is forcing women to pay for their boss’s religious beliefs,” said ACLU senior staff attorney Brigitte Amiri. “We’re filing this lawsuit because the federal government cannot authorize discrimination against women in the name of religion or otherwise.”
Actually, the Trump Administration is lifting the unconstitutional requirement that forces bosses to pay for their employees’ sexual choices. This change in the rules does not in any way infringe on anyone’s liberty. No one is prohibited from having sex, protected or otherwise.
Do the raving loons on the left want their employers to dictate how they behave while off the clock? Of course not. And fair is fair: If you don’t want your boss to have any authority over your bedroom life, then don’t demand their presence there financially.
Birth Control is a Recreational Drug
Contraception is not basic healthcare, as it is only required by those who choose to have sex for pleasure rather than for both pleasure and reproduction. When people who don’t want children copulate, they do so recreationally. If employers aren’t required to pay for other leisure activities, why must they pay for their workers to have safe sex?
