Senator Blunt's comment DOES make economic sense. Nothing in life is free. Somebody pays for everything. If the government pays, where does it get the money? The taxpayers. Government does not produce anything that makes money. You, the taxpayer fund government. If the insurance companies pay for free contraceptives the cost will be passed down to those who pay for the coverage...premiums will go up for whomever pays the bill.....you, your employer, or the government (read YOU). Insurance companies are not in business for the fun of it. They aren't buildings full of Santa Clauses. Don't play stupid. This is still a capitalistic society. Nothing is free!

I'm 24 years old, a woman, and I live in the south, where there is a church every half mile and every political representitive is in some way religious. But then there is me. I am an athiest and I in no way support any of the anti-contraceptive bullcrap that these religious groups and political bigots are trying to thrust upon me against my free will BECAUSE it is being thrust upon me.

I do not remember, at any given time in my 24 years of life, having ever given another person permission to decide FOR me what is best for me and my reproductive system. So why should I comply with these new rules and regulations when the very reason behind them is in no way my own personal opinion? I was BORN with my body. I did not give up my female rights at BIRTH. I was not BORN because my mother didn't have any CHOICE. I was born BECAUSE my mother had the choice. Where is MY ability to choose?

There are over 7 billion people on this planet. A fact that is incredibly detrimental to the human population because there is never enough food, water, housing and money to support our GROWING numbers and for some reason, our control as humans based on reproduction is being challenged because of unrealisitc religious point of views. The more humans that this world takes on, the closer we come to our own destruction. And yet as a society, massive groups of people will stop at nothing to ensure that "God's" creations are not destroyed but encouraged to multiply even more despite the dangers to the people that are already here.

I don't know about you, but I would rather take care of another human life through adoption than bring another starving child into this world who will have to face the same injustices that I am facing now in regards to my freedoms as a woman. Church and state will never be allowed into my bedroom, nor will I allow them to have control over my ovaries, uterus, or my entire body for that matter. It is that simple. And I dare anyone to challenge me.

Congressman King is right- in France, they have to have lots of paid leave for parents, because otherwise, nobody seems to be willing to conceive, except women from Algeria, who may not have a choice, probably in you-know-what religion. If we let US women have free birth control, we'll probably have to also subsidize child care, well-baby appointments, maternal checkups, etc. etc.etc.! Horrors!

Birth control pills are prescription medication, given to a woman by her doctor. That's really the beginning and end of the argument for me.

Yes, because contraceptives are ONLY good for birth control, no one ever took a birth control pill for reasons OTHER than birth control. Ever. Not for acne, not for ovarian cysts, not for pain relief from intensely painful periods, not to regulate the occurrence or duration of periods, not to skip periods - wether sexually active or not. Nope, we don't need those other forms of preventative medicine, we just wanna be free of the baby-disease. THAT'S RIGHT, REPUBLICANS.

You are all so far up your own asses...

Birth control/contraception is just another word for hormone treatment, which can be used for a plethora of non-pregnancy related issues including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, and more. I am an individual who has one of those conditions and yes, I have taken these forms of hormone treatment to counteract debilitating pain. I took the medication in order to be able to counteract pain so I could work. Despite being on excellent health insurance and being paid moderately well, I still struggled to pay for the only pills that worked well with my body: non-generic versions that were $30-$50/mth. Given that the condition that I have makes pregnancy likely medically impossible and--if it were to occur--likely detrimental, the side effect of acting as a contraceptive is nullified, as is the fact that I, like many women who take these medications, was not sexually active. When I had to take another job, I was a full-time consultant and had to pay out-of-pocket for insurance that did not cover my preexisting condition. I was unable to continue to afford birth control due to its high cost. The fact that this benefit would assist women who might be worse off than myself, both financially and medically, is a dream. To take it away is a curse.

Furthermore, not all people who work at religious institutions--including churches!--share the same faith as their employer. My own mother has worked at both a Methodist church and a Jewish community center. She is Lutheran. To deny her any sort of rights because she is working for another faith is absurd. Just as it is an individual's choice what faith they believe "without prejudice," the same should apply to one's medical choices.

IDIOTS - enough said.

While these are great , and many we've all heard , it would be REALLY helpful to have the corrections to these lies addressed as well so that the full story is told when sharing it. Just a thought:)

This is just painful to read. I know it's meant to be so ridiculous it's funny, but it isn't. It's just painful.

One small edit, Rick Santorum is NOT a senator. He lost his re-election bid badly in a red district he should have won but didn't. That's how bad that guy is. Don't give him credit he doesn't deserve.

As a woman suffering from PCOS I rely on birth control to help with hormonal imbalances, but I mainly use it to keep cysts from growing on my overies that lead to infertility if left untreated. So yeah I am actually on birth control to protect my fertility. Why do men get coverage for Viagra? It's not needed for physical health. Apparently the men menentioned above have a right to affordable hard ons, but I don't deserve the right to have affordable hormone therapy.

I find it difficult to logically cope with the argument that representatives don't think we should fund the relatively small cost of birth control when compared to the costs of compensation to an unplanned child of a mother who couldn't even afford the birth control.

this hilarious but kinda scary, too, at the same time...the tea party is THE DEVIL!!!

I support Planned Parenthood. Always have, always will.

During the Reagan administration and also during wartime, we effectively have "post-partum abortion" when we do not meet the needs of impoverished citizens who are born and then use them as cannon fodder when they reach fighting age.

I have never been more embarrassed to be an Iowan than after reading that comment from Rep. King.

Until men go through the experience of prenancy and labor and all of the bodily changes a woman goes through to give birth, they should keep their opinions to themselves. Should women give up sex just because they're in a situation where they can't afford contraception? I don't think men would appreciate that either. Until they play the game (pregnancy) they can't make the rules.

Planned Parenthood provides essential female reproductive health services. Responsible family planning is an admirable goal, and contraception helps women and men achieve that goal.
Someone should send every voting-age woman in the US a list of congressmen who voted to deny women contraceptive access, who redefined rape to minimize its devastation, who voted to allow women to die rather than be given information that could save their lives, who voted against the Lillly Ledbetter Act regarding equal pay for equal pay for equal work, and who voted against funding domestic violence programs. Then women should vote against those people who are intent on ruining their lives through dangerous, theocratic legislation.

That last quote is truly the most ridiculous. Using his logic men shouldn't pay premiums on insurance that covers treatment for cervical or uterine cancer and women shouldn't pay premiums on insurance that covers treatment for testicular cancer, etc. Premiums exist so all sorts of treatment/medicine is available to a wide range of people, and King knows that.They will truly say and do anything they can to try to impose their twisted religious beliefs on the populace.

My mouth was hanging open throughout this article. Hilarious. We are not trying to prevent babies, Steve King, we are trying to be realistic about the fact that teenagers all over our country are reproducing at a young age without being able to take a care of their children. I do believe that the entire country should contribute to help stop this. If the sex education were better in this country, maybe this would never be necessary. I mean honestly...people are still going to have babies with or without birth control. These comments are ridiculous. Our civilization is not going to die. More people should be aware of these issues.

So the Blunt amendment means that the federal government as employer to Congress and the Senate can stop paying health coverage for men who are morally repungnant to women? .

So many things that are simply not true here, but the one that sticks out the most is the last one. Congressman King speaks as if the world is overpopulated! Does he not live on earth? We have a major population problem that we need to learn how to control! Good grief....