This year, there's a bill in Congress that would do just that. H.R. 2120, the Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act, would require medical insurance plans that already offer general prescription coverage to also cover the costs of contraceptive prescriptions.
The main argument behind H.R. 2120 is pretty clear: if insurance companies cover contraceptives under their plans (which most currently don't), then more people will use contraception. The more people that use contraception, the fewer people will have unintended pregnancies. The fewer people that have unintended pregnancies, the smaller the number of abortions that will occur.
Other arguments exist for the passage of H.R. 2120. Many observers of the insurance industry reacted with anger a couple of years ago when insurance companies quickly offered to cover the sex drug Viagra for men, but continued to refuse to cover birth control pills under their plans. Some have argued that it isn't fair for men's reproductive medicine to be covered when women's reproductive medicine isn't.
Opponents of the bill have argued that it isn't fair to impose extra costs on the insurance industry. Those who favor the bill respond that insurance companies are free to raise their premiums, and further that studies have shown the cost of providing family planning is outweighed by savings from prevented pregnancies and deliveries.
Other opposition comes from the religious right. Some conservatives claim that birth control is immoral and should not be socially sanctioned. This kind of claim, since it is a matter of faith, cannot be countered through exposition or rational argument.
Every U.S. citizen is affected in some way by the issue this bill addresses, either through personal experience or through taxes paid for the public health costs of abortions and pregnancies. Fortunately, we have some influence on this bill's outcome.
What can you do? * First, click here to read the bill for yourself and decide what you think of it. Don't worry, the gobbledy-gook language in this one isn't too bad.
* Second, click here to find out who supports the bill. Is your Representative on the list of supporters?
* Third, if you need to figure out who your Representative is, or if you'd like to get in touch with them and give them a piece of your mind, click here to get the contact information you need. You'll be able to get phone, regular mail and e-mail information right away.
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