What Rush Limbaugh said was indefensible, and should be considered to be way out of bounds. I don't care if Bill Maher and Ed Schultz say similar things about Sarah Palin and Michelle Malkin, it's all garbage.
Rush's comments also, once again, managed to take conservatives and Republicans way off the issues they should have been talking about.
Yes, a woman has a right to buy contraception. However, she does not have the right to have her employer/school pay for it. If my faith required that I keep a kosher diet, that does not mean it is my "right" to have anyone else pay for that either. It's the old positive rights vs. negative rights argument.
Tom brings up an interesting point about Viagra being covered by insurance companies, therefore why not contraception? I could counter with the fact that in New Jersey, everyone's basic coverage is required to cover more than 30 specific items, including things such as eating disorders. I do not need that coverage, and would prefer to save a small amount on my premium as opposed to paying for it.
However, that part of the argument goes to the underlying deeper problems with healthcare in this country. It should not be provided by your employer in the first place. The only reason employers do cover it is because it became part of our culture during WWII salary caps, and because it is treated differently in the tax code than individual purchases.
The new federal law takes that misguided system, and makes it permanent for everyone who works for a company with 50 or more people. Then, you have the federal government issuing new regulations such as the contraception issue, that further intrude on the doctor/patient/employer/employee relationships.
Again, these are all issues the Republicans should have used the Fluke case to discuss. Instead, we're in a poop toss about whose comments toward women are worse, and why people with smaller audiences can get away with so much more.
