Is Free Birth Control Really Free?

After the birth of our second daughter, my husband and I knew we needed some sort of contraceptive. Not ready for #3, and unwilling to give up the very activity that could lead to another ankle-biter, we decided to take advantage of modern medicine and use birth control.

We settled on the Mirena (and now you know way more about my uterus than you probably wanted to), even though it wasn’t covered by our insurance plan. It cost close to $500, but was economically worth it for us for its longevity. The pharmaceutical company I bought it from negotiated a payment plan with me, and after $35 a month for a year, the thing was paid for.

Sure, it would’ve been nice if insurance had covered it, but it didn’t. It was their choice not to cover the device, and my choice to use it anyway. Key word? Choice.

Obamacare robs American individuals and businesses of free choice at every turn, in the name of the common good. Don’t want to spend money on health insurance? Too bad, now everyone has to buy it.

One of the latest requirements to hit insurers in the U.S. is the birth control mandate. Starting January 1, 2013, health care providers will be legally obligated to offer birth control-with no co pay-to anyone that wants it. This sanction falls under the umbrella of women’s preventative care as written in Obamacare.

Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius says:

“These historic guidelines are based on science and existing (medical) literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need.”

This isn’t about helping women obtain contraceptives; this is about exerting control over yet another portion of U.S. business. Women already have access to birth control for little or no money. Medicaid (government-sponsored medical care for those that meet income guidelines) covers contraceptives. Planned Parenthood hands out condoms like they’re candy. Walmart fills birth control pill prescriptions for as little as $9 per month.

In other words: If a woman really can’t afford contraceptives, she won’t have a problem getting them anyway.

In fact, there’s no evidence whatsoever to show that free birth control for all will lead to a decrease in teen pregnancy or abortion. About half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, which means that women aren’t taking advantage of the myriad of options already available to them. Again, any woman that cannot actually afford birth control can get it for little or no money.

The only thing this birth control mandate will do is remove the cost of contraceptives from women that can afford it, and shift it to everyone else in the form of their premiums going up. Which means that people barely managing their payments every month will have to scrimp elsewhere, or drop their coverage and get on the government plan. After all, it will soon be illegal to be without health insurance.

When we remove free choice from American individuals and businesses, it’s always about growing government control. Anyone that believes the government does a better job taking care of people than the free enterprise should take a trip to Cuba. Birth control is free there too.