Are Missouri Republicans Trying to Outlaw Birth Control?

No.

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On Wednesday, former Sen. Claire McCaskill claimed that Missouri Republicans were attempting to “outlaw birth control.”

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  1. Avatar photo
    The Bell Tower

    It’s all the same to some people, rooted in the absurd notion that freedom is only for people who can afford it. So, if person x can’t afford to buy birth control, you’ve essentially outlawed it for them.

    I’ll save the Hayek quote but he put his finger on an argument at least as ancient as Cicero trying figure out what burning down his villa and erecting a false shrine to Libertas had to do with freedom. Somewhere along the line, ancient Roman freedoms got mixed up with grain subsidies.

    Ezekiel Emmanuel put his finger on the problem with this mentality in his infamous “death panels” paper that Sarah Palin failed to actually read. Guaranteeing health care is all well and good but what do we mean by “health care?” Who draws the line in what we are forced to subsidize?

    Abortion? Sexual re-assignment? Hair plugs? A healthy diet? If you thought the inane infrastructure debates were nuts, imagine this one. Where’s the line?

    You know what? I will quote Hayek because he explains it better than anyone I’m aware of:

    “To the great apostles of political freedom the word had meant freedom from coercion, freedom from the arbitrary power of other men, release from the ties which left the individual no choice but obedience to the orders of a superior to whom he was attached. The new freedom promised, however, was to be freedom from necessity, release from the compulsion of the circumstances which inevitably limit the range of choice of all of us, although for some very much more than for others. Before man could be truly free, the ‘despotism of physical want’ had to be broken, the ‘restraints of the economic system’ relaxed. Freedom in this sense is, of course, merely another name for power or wealth.”

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  2. Mary Stine

    Not sure about Missouri Medicaid, but in Kansas using ANY of your money for "luxuries" (which includes women's sanitary supplies and birth control) used to be grounds for a review of real need. Which meant you were likely to be kicked off Medicaid. A nurse in the assisted living my parents were in told me that just buying a better soap to alleviate itching was written up as an offense. A younger client of mine who fell on hard times due to Lyme disease discovered that she wasn't allowed to spend money on tampons or pads, she had to pick those up at a church pantry.

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  3. Avatar photo
    Victor Clairmont

    Another falsehood bites the dust~~

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  4. Avatar photo
    Ed P

    Definitely crossed the line into dishonesty here. Shame on McCaskill. She has the correct instinct in my opinion, and is on the right side of this issue. But her dishonesty betrays her cause.

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    1. Mary Stine

      You're probably right. But McCaskill may have been thinking about how many Missourians are in real poverty and could only access birth control if it were given away or supplied below the market price. Missouri has some very wealthy denizens and two major cities, but it is still a state with very high poverty rates and very little good paying jobs outside of the big cities. McCaskill also knows, I'm sure, how many proud Missourians would refuse to even apply for Medicaid except in the face of medical disaster. In years past, many women might have accessed Planned Parenthood for birth control pills or devices, but few who are conservative or prolife would do that now. A real solution would be for the prolife centers to also dispense nonabortive birth control (concoms, diaphragms, certain pills, even IUD's) at below market prices or free.

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  5. Avatar photo
    rlritt

    So stupid. If you hate abortion, give away birth control for free. Do you know they now have a small implant that can be inserted painlessly that prevents conception for 3 years!! No excuse for unwanted pregnancy and abortion. That should be a Republican platform. They would instantly win over most women of child bearing age.

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  6. Avatar photo
    Grandma B

    McCaskill: You seriously can’t make this stuff up.
    Dent: You just did.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Logical

      The prescription birth control is going to be "outlawed" for all practical purposes. There is no way many on Medicaid can access such.

      McCaskill is not out there. And Dent is trying to split hairs.

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      1. Avatar photo
        Show Jay Janney the 🚪!

        The pill is off patent protection now, and GoodRx estimates various out of pocket options are about $250 annually (or just more than $20 a month).

        That will shut out some from for financial reasons, but I suspect that number is much smaller than the former senator will admit to.

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      2. Ingenero.lux

        Outlawed does not equal “the government won’t pay for”. Otherwise the government has outlawed firearms. Have to subsidize them so everyone can have their Second Amendment rights. You know how much a Hi-point and ammunition costs these days? It may not sound like a lot of money, but if you’re minimum wage, practice ammo can be a substantial budget item.

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      3. David R

        how much do you think the most common oral contraceptives cost?

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        1. Avatar photo
          Ed P

          IUDs are more effective with fewer side effects. More expensive, but the cost of an unwanted child can be astronomical for the state and society.

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        2. Avatar photo
          Logical

          I talked to my gm doctor cousin on this subject in another context a while ago. It depends.

          First of all prescription bc requires scheduled visits to doctors (they need to make money too). Monthly oral w/o i insurance is about $50 at the pharmacy. With insurance it's usually zero deductible.

          IUDs cost about 1000$ but if complications develop, the cost can skyrocket.

          Planned Parenthood can help them a lot with cost...provided MS let's them exist.

          It may not sound like a lot of money but if you are a MS minimum wage category, it can be a substsntial budget item.

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      4. ExploreOK

        There's a big difference between eliminating Medicaid funding for birth control and banning birth control statewide in my book.

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      5. Avatar photo
        Grandma B

        Oxford Dictionary: Outlawed (adjective)
        made illegal; banned.

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        1. Avatar photo
          Logical

          I like Collins American Dictionary. Screw foreign versions.

          "You use for all practical purposes or to all intents and purposes to suggest that a situation is not exactly as you describe it, but the effect is the same as if it were. For all practical purposes the treaty has already ceased to exist."

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          1. Acre00

            You're right; Oxford sucks. Why don't we try Webster's?

            To prohibit, especially by legal means

            Also: To prohibit the use, distribution, or performance of

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About Alec Dent

Alec Dent is the culture editor and a staff writer for The Dispatch. He is a graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC Chapel Hill, and previously oversaw The Dispatch's fact checking team.
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