Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« Officer Who Allegedly Stole Drugs F… | Burgers of Des Moines »

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Ladies Planned Parenthood Regrets

Posted by Cienna Madrid on Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Due to our Thumbelina-sized issue this week, a number of regrets we solicited had to be cut from the paper—among them, regrets sent in from Planned Parenthood, the national kickass family planning agency that provides high-quality, affordable reproductive health care for young and low-income women and men. Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest says:

On a national level, we regret that the United States House of Representatives would opt to shut the government down rather than fund basic women’s health. We regret that not a single Republican presidential candidate is pro-choice. Furthermore, we regret that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius rejected the FDA’s recommendation to make Plan B over the counter to everyone, but men and boys can still get Viagra in the aisle.

Locally, we regret that in its attempts to save money, Washington State cut $2.25 million from family planning in 2011, which actually increased our state’s pregnancy costs by $9 million (i.e. costing the state money instead of saving it) and eliminated services for 7,500 low-income women. We also harbor big ol’ regrets that Gov. Chris Gregoire has recommended cutting another $1.8 million from family planning funding in her current budget proposal.

We regret that three more safety-net Planned Parenthood clinics for low-income people had to close this year. Finally, we regret that despite more desperate economic times than we have had since the Great Depression, legislators in Washington still haven’t made a revenue proposal to stop cuts to the programs Washington families depend on.

Well said.

Comments (14) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

Where can "boys and men" buy Viagra in an aisle? Does that mean on the shelf at a drugstore? I don't think that's how it works...

Posted by Daily in LA on January 5, 2012 at 2:49 PM

We regret that PP slaughters tens of thousands of babies a year.

Posted by Rot in Hell on January 5, 2012 at 2:49 PM

What isle is Viagra on?

@2 because you are for a robust universal healthcare, social safety net, protest the death penalty, mass incarceration, and needless wars? When that baby be born, its fucked! Yee haw!

Posted by aardvark on January 5, 2012 at 2:55 PM

Yeah, @1 and @3 are correct. Viagra is not over the counter (aka "in the aisle"). It *is* covered by many health insurance plans that refuse to cover contraception, which is the usual gender gap that (rightfully) causes outrage.

Posted by also on January 5, 2012 at 3:10 PM

My insurance covers contraception but not treatment for erectile disfunction.

Posted by Free Lunch on January 5, 2012 at 3:41 PM

Of course, Viagra is covered, it is a top profit generator for the biopharmaceuticals; speaking of which, "HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius" since you mentioned her, Ms. Madrid, only hours after the passage of the Obama Administration's backdoor bailout of the health insurance industry, that private health insurance legislation, immediately hired former Wellpoint VP, Liz Fowler (who helped write the legislation as we know from Sen. Bachus publicly thanking her on the floor of the Senate), to create waivers for various health insurance corporations.

Waivers for what, one wonders?

And Gov. Gregroire "heroically" finally voices her support for same-sex marriage because, as the governor who pushed for the legislation to criminalize anyone exaggerating on their resumes or CVs, while also pushing for tax breaks for the corporate elites, obviously finally decided another revenue stream was in order (expanding the pool for marriage licenses, etc.).

Your assignment, Ms. Madrid, should you be woman enough to accept it, is to find out who owns those biopharmaceuticals!

Posted by sgt_doom on January 5, 2012 at 3:55 PM

Maybe "getting Viagra in the aisle" is a euphemism for something else?

Posted by Looking For a Better Read on January 5, 2012 at 3:59 PM

I don't believe many insurance companies cover viagra or cialis despite sex being an obvious issue related to health and the exorbitant cost of these medications — blue cross certainly doesn't. They are not over-the-counter drugs, which is a stupid implication. Insurance companies operating in this state are forced by law to cover birth control.

Birth control is more widely covered and more affordable than erectile dysfunction medications. Groups like Planned Parenthood should stop exploiting this myth because it's a) false and b) insulting to poor and middle-class men who cannot buy access to medications that would help them achieve a healthy sex life.

Posted by John Jensen

on January 5, 2012 at 4:18 PM

@6 biopharmaceuticals? what happened to pharmaceuticals? my father was a senior vice president at pfizer when that shit first went out. what do you want to know? water fluoridation?

my last provider didnt cover boner pills. maybe i should check my new one, those things are expensive and AWESOME. and god damn would i love to know which anti-abortion members of congress / senate use that shit. it is one of the greatest inventions of all time!

Posted by aardvark on January 5, 2012 at 4:22 PM

Everyone should be giving money to Planned Parenthood.

Posted by bobbo on January 5, 2012 at 4:33 PM

I think abortions for non-medical, non-crimanal reasons should be against the law... As soon as we guarantee food, shelter, love, and a good education for every child born. Universally free contraception would be a nice bonus.

Posted by wingedkat on January 5, 2012 at 6:28 PM

Generic birth control pills cost $9.00 per pack at Walmart. About the cost of a decent six-pack of beer.

Posted by Spokalou on January 6, 2012 at 1:41 PM

@Spokalou - Those pills aren't as cheap as they seem. The up front cost is low because the Pill is old technology, but 1 in 12 women on the Pill gets pregnant each year. So you have to factor in the cost of either an abortion or pregnancy and unwanted kid. I admit, 1 in 12 is way better (and way cheaper) than the 85% odds of getting pregnant each year without it, but it rather sucks compared to the lastest generation of long acting reversibles like IUDs and implants, which drop the pregnancy risk to 1in 500 or lower. When will we have a system that makes those universally affordable?

Posted by Valerie T on January 7, 2012 at 10:25 AM

@12 the problem is that "birth control pills" are not a single drug across the class. Some bc pills cause pain, disorientation, constant menstration, depression, suicidal thoughts, "brain fog", deep vein thrombosis, and other effects from hormone imbalance. Taking the $9 pills from Walmart might not be an option for someone, and this is why we need insurance and planned parenthood to eat up some of the cost of those "designer pills"--designer in that they are designed to minimize side effects in some women. Taking hormones every day is a tricky sort of business, and I'm damned glad I don't have to any more.

Posted by zobot