Why is Safe Sex Promotion Such a Bad Thing?Sometimes I am flabbergasted by what conservatives (particularly of the evangelical variety) get so worked up about. The stimulus is chocked full of a lot of porky goodness, but sharpshooting the contraceptive portion of it seems like an exercise in futility (especially when it's a mere drop in the bucket as far as funds are concerned). The GOP leadership is probably making a big stink about this to gratify the part of the base that thinks the Earth is only 5000 years old, but it seems as though there are bigger fish to fry IMHO. Here's House Minority Leader Boehner freaking out. From Politico:
“How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives?” House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) asked after meeting with the president at the White House on Friday. “How does that stimulate the economy?”I understand his point that contraceptive and economic stimulus might have a tenuous connection besides a funny punchline (huh huh stimulus). But I believe there is a need for federal promotion of safe sex. Primarily, because AIDS is an ongoing public health emergency and education plus condom promotion are the best methods to prevent loss of life to this wretched disease. The GOP should recognize that some of the religious right were the nitwits that thought AIDS was divine intervention to kill sodomites (most notoriously Sen. Helms), and opposed any sort of federal response to this epidemic during its initial outbreak in the 1980s.
Waxman had included the funds as part of a $300 million package to slow the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
The proposal aimed to reduce costs for the states by making it easier for states to pay for contraception for women who qualified under Medicaid and whose income was 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
This ideological, evangelical base opposed to any sort of science that continues to mix their religious beliefs with federal policy needs to quietly go away. Hopefully, if Steele wins RNC chairman, he might make that happen.
See what the others have said:
6 comments:
Some of the GOP are so strange about this. I don't look at this as something that can stimulate the economy now, but it seems like it will save us money later in health care and also keep people off welfare if they have a few less kiddies to feed.
"How does that stimulate the economy?!"
Perhaps this douche hasn't thought about the fact that if some current welfare families had access to contraceptives, they might not be living off the government like fat Wal-Mart obsessed pigs! Or at the very least they'd have fewer ankle biters suckling at the teat of Uncle Sam. Idiot.
If my religious belief is that sex before marriage is wrong, I would not want the government funding promiscuous behavior. If your belief is that such behavior is okay, it may be different than my belief, but it is still a personal conviction. Then why should the government fund your organizations and not mine? There are plenty of organizations that supply contraceptives to poor people and education is geered toward teaching people to use condoms. I just don't think that the government has any business in the sex business.
Bag Blog,
Well it's certainly not a slam on whatever people's beliefs of sex before marriage is. It's more of an acknowledgment that people are going to do it out of wedlock, and therefore the government should take action to prevent the spread of AIDS...which is a horrific disease. I can sympathize with no public funds for abortions (since some consider it murder), but I don't see the controversy with contraceptives.
Do you find it ironic that the government taxes the heck out of liquor and cigarettes to deter the public's use of such things, and to make money off of what they know "people will do anyway," yet they give out free contraceptives?
By the way, I know of an incident where thirteen year old girls living in a government home for girls were given contraceptive inplants (because they were going to do it anyways). Those kinds of contraception do nothing for STDs or AIDS, but do encourage sexual promiscuity. I still don't think the government has any business in the sex business.
My ship handed out condoms prior to port visits but the screaming in the head from the burning pee was still deafening :)
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