General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA 4-paragraph excerpt from Sandra Fluke's statement (a must-read for the trolls)
This is especially for all the trolls who seem to think what she said was, "I'm having sex constantly and I need taxpayers to buy my contraception." That's the story Rush Limbaugh created, and it has no resemblance to the truth. (Emphases mine.)
[div class = "excerpt"]These denials of contraceptive coverage impact real people. In the worst cases, women who need this medication for other medical reasons suffer dire consequences. A friend of mine, for example, has polycystic ovarian syndrome and has to take prescription birth control to stop cysts from growing on her ovaries. Her prescription is technically covered by Georgetown insurance because its not intended to prevent pregnancy. Under many religious institutions insurance plans, it wouldnt be, and under Senator Blunts amendment, Senator Rubios bill, or Representative Fortenberrys bill, theres no requirement that an exception be made for such medical needs. When they do exist, these exceptions dont accomplish their well-intended goals because when you let university administrators or other employers, rather than women and their doctors, dictate whose medical needs are legitimate and whose arent, a womans health takes a back seat to a bureaucracy focused on policing her body.
In sixty-five percent of cases, our female students were interrogated by insurance representatives and university medical staff about why they needed these prescriptions and whether they were lying about their symptoms. For my friend, and 20% of women in her situation, she never got the insurance company to cover her prescription, despite verification of her illness from her doctor. Her claim was denied repeatedly on the assumption that she really wanted the birth control to prevent pregnancy. Shes gay, so clearly polycystic ovarian syndrome was a much more urgent concern than accidental pregnancy. After months of paying over $100 out of pocket, she just couldnt afford her medication anymore and had to stop taking it. I learned about all of this when I walked out of a test and got a message from her that in the middle of her final exam period shed been in the emergency room all night in excruciating pain. She wrote, It was so painful, I woke up thinking Id been shot. Without her taking the birth control, a massive cyst the size of a tennis ball had grown on her ovary. She had to have surgery to remove her entire ovary. On the morning I was originally scheduled to give this testimony, she sat in a doctors office. Since last years surgery, shes been experiencing night sweats, weight gain, and other symptoms of early menopause as a result of the removal of her ovary. Shes 32 years old. As she put it: If my body indeed does enter early menopause, no fertility specialist in the world will be able to help me have my own children. I will have no chance at giving my mother her desperately desired grandbabies, simply because the insurance policy that I paid for totally unsubsidized by my school wouldnt cover my prescription for birth control when I needed it. Now, in addition to potentially facing the health complications that come with having menopause at an early age-- increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis, she may never be able to conceive a child.
Perhaps you think my friends tragic story is rare. Its not. One woman told us doctors believe she has endometriosis, but it cant be proven without surgery, so the insurance hasnt been willing to cover her medication. Recently, another friend of mine told me that she also has polycystic ovarian syndrome. Shes struggling to pay for her medication and is terrified to not have access to it. Due to the barriers erected by Georgetowns policy, she hasnt been reimbursed for her medication since last August. I sincerely pray that we dont have to wait until she loses an ovary or is diagnosed with cancer before her needs and the needs of all of these women are taken seriously.
This is the message that not requiring coverage of contraception sends. A womans reproductive healthcare isnt a necessity, isnt a priority. One student told us that she knew birth control wasnt covered, and she assumed thats how Georgetowns insurance handled all of womens sexual healthcare, so when she was raped, she didnt go to the doctor even to be examined or tested for sexually transmitted infections because she thought insurance wasnt going to cover something like that, something that was related to a womans reproductive health. As one student put it, this policy communicates to female students that our school doesnt understand our needs. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/statement-Congress-letterhead-2nd%20hearing.pdf
all american girl
(1,788 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,403 posts)Thanks for the thread, Sparkly.
MarkCharles
(2,261 posts)facts and all the grace any woman should have.
Who wouldn't pay money to have her in a debate with all the Republican candidates, and Rush and Bill0, and a few other foolish news folks who extol Rush?
She could destroy the advertising base of Fox News, with over 50% of American citizens wanting her instead of the pablum we are fed on most news channels?
Sandra: finish your law degree, do a couple years of lawyer work, then run for the Senate, or maybe for President, whatever you want to do, you're about the most sane person to appear on TV in 10 years, other than Obama.
Who knows? Maybe even some Republicans will question your birth certificate.
surrealAmerican
(11,363 posts)very eloquent
Lucky Luciano
(11,258 posts)ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)it doesn't fit on a bumper sticker.
progressoid
(49,996 posts)Too long, too complicated & too intelligent for them.
Cognitive_Resonance
(1,546 posts)mindwalker_i
(4,407 posts)What if one of them was going to be the next Einstein?
What if one of them was going to be the next Jesus?
I'm not a tumor.