Republicans in Oklahoma, who apparently think the interstate commerce clause doesn’t exist, are trying to pass a bill that overrules the contraception mandate for insurance companies in that state. And you’re going to love the argument for this being made by the sponsor of the bill:
Jolley said the measure is the result of a request from a constituent, Dr. Dominic Pedulla, an Oklahoma City cardiologist who describes himself as a natural family planning medical consultant and women’s health researcher.
Pedulla says he is morally against contraception and abortion. He said he had to give up his small group health plan because the only plans available in the state required coverage for contraception and sterilization. He and his family were on the plan and had to find more expensive insurance elsewhere.
“Every small group plan forces you to choose those options,” Pedulla said.
Women are worse off with contraception because it suppresses and disables who they are, Pedulla said.“Part of their identity is the potential to be a mother,” Pedulla said. “They are being asked to suppress and radically contradict part of their own identity, and if that wasn’t bad enough, they are being asked to poison their bodies.”
Studies show that women using contraceptives consider pregnancy more unwanted than wanted, he said.
Well yes, women using contraceptives obviously consider a pregnancy to be unwanted at that time. There’s a clue in the fact that they’re actively trying to prevent pregnancy. Why you think you should have the power to control whether they do so rather than them controlling it is beyond rational comprehension.
By the way, this bill passed out of committee by a 9-0 vote, with no debate at all. It will certainly pass the whole legislature.
