Summer MinorSex Is A Lifestyle Choice, Not Ovulation
July 18th 2008 11:50
Hat tip Crooks and Liars:
So apparently on the Cafferty Files they were discussing McCain's bumbling attempt at not answering why he thinks Viagra is OK for insurance companies to pay for and birth control is not. After a little conversation Cafferty comes up with a gem of an answer. Male penises are deserving of medical treatment, women's ovaries are not. If anyone can explain the logic of that one please go right ahead, I'm too busy picking up the pieces of my exploded brain.
Now, perhaps it's because I'm a woman and have more experience dealing with ovulation than I do with trying get a hard on I see things as quite the opposite. Ovulation and menstruation are more medical conditions than getting it up is. Choosing to have sex, the thing that would require a man to worry about needing Viagra, is a lifestyle choice. Women, however, don't generally get to make the "lifestyle choice" of whether or not we're going to have our period.
Now, I know some will say that having sex would be a prerequisite for needing birth control as well, making both lifestyle choices. However hormonal birth control is often prescribed to women to control several actually medical conditions that have nothing to do with whether or not a person has sex. Heavy, painful, absent periods, symptoms of menopause, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are all treated with hormonal birth control. Tell me, how many conditions are treated with Viagra?
CAFFERTY: Well, you know, the answer is Viagra is used to treat a medical condition, erectile dysfunction. Birth control is a lifestyle choice. And that’s why insurance companies don’t reimburse for it unless pregnancy represents a danger for the woman. And then there’s a gray area where you can do a negotiation.
Now, perhaps it's because I'm a woman and have more experience dealing with ovulation than I do with trying get a hard on I see things as quite the opposite. Ovulation and menstruation are more medical conditions than getting it up is. Choosing to have sex, the thing that would require a man to worry about needing Viagra, is a lifestyle choice. Women, however, don't generally get to make the "lifestyle choice" of whether or not we're going to have our period.
Now, I know some will say that having sex would be a prerequisite for needing birth control as well, making both lifestyle choices. However hormonal birth control is often prescribed to women to control several actually medical conditions that have nothing to do with whether or not a person has sex. Heavy, painful, absent periods, symptoms of menopause, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are all treated with hormonal birth control. Tell me, how many conditions are treated with Viagra?
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Comment by Anna Kovacevic
So who are you anyway?
When a goods and services tax was introduced in Australia in 2000, products such as tampons and pads were not exempt even though lubricants and condoms did not attract the tax.
Womens menstruation is expected to raise up to $20 million dollars in this country alone in tax each year.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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when the GST came in here in Australia all the women (including myself) were quite insulted that tampons were not considered "essential items" . . . for women they are as essential for health and hygiene as toilet paper and toothpaste . . .
saying The Pill is a "lifestyle choice" is even more stupid, The Pill is prescribed for many many therapuetic reasons apart from birth control (and personally i consider birth control to be a good enough reason in itself)
regulating unpredictable periods, severe period pain and cramps, to treat acne and skin conditions, hormonal and mood problems . . . the list goes on
obviously old men formulate what is essential and what is not
Comment by RubySoho
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In other words, women should just do the right thing and get pregnant every nine months.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Comment by RubySoho
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'a sad barren woman, spiritually, morally, physically'
Comment by RubySoho
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'a sad barren woman, spiritually, morally, physically'
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i wonder what argument that would have been relevant to? *scratches head*
i like how some men think its acceptable not to divulge any personal information yet when you want to express an opinion you have to provide a papsmear hahaha
Comment by Summer Minor
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And the only way to fix that is to find god and pop out a kid every 9-10 months, right? Ha!
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Comment by NicuNurse
Actually, there is at least one that I know of. Persistant Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN) is commonly treated with Sildenafil - we call it by its generic name so as not to upset the baby's parents!
I know, I know, I'm being facetious. I agree with the content of your article. I just thought you might appreciate this little bit of medical trivia.
Cheers.
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Comment by Cheryl J
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Well I'm just going to go sit outside and wait for people to throw rocks at me screaming 'unclean' because I get to menstruate and that's my lifestyle choice.
Comment by Lewis T
This does not undermine your argument, and I am not trying to.
However, the more important thing to me is, that McCain, rather than stating his opinion on the subject, pulled a "What did they tell me to say here?" in the words of Frank Caliendo as George Bush. So much for "straight-talk".
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Comment by sisterchromatid
However, I think one very important response to this problem is for women to get together and educate themselves on healthy, natural alternatives to "The Man's" products related to our reproductive organs. Some people will probably always need birth control because of medical conditions, but lots of women could benefit from natural herbal contraceptives. In addition, many women, I think, should look into their use of tampons and pads further. Far be it from me (or anyone else) to tell you what to do, but what if evidence pointed towards these products giving you cervical cancers? I think women owe it to themselves to at least look into such things as menstrual cups, organic pesticide free tampons, etc. in order to be healthier and happier. Also, there are herbal teas and tinctures that can bring on a late period within eight weeks of a missed cycle; herbs that prevent fertilization; herbs that cure yeast infections, UTIs and some STIs like trich and gonorrhea.
Wouldn't it be better to treat your reproductive system really nicely with lots of healthy foods, exercise and natural disease prevention and treatment, instead of relying upon medication and products that are only lining the patriarchy's pockets and making you sick??
Comment by silenttrio.com
um, wat?
And they don't want you to get better. Doctors don't care, they don't listen, and they don't usually know enough about a single condition to advise you ANYWAY. I would recommend curezone.org forums as an alternative resource, though there are lots of looney's hanging out there.
You should always consider yourself your own primary care physician, and everyone else is merely a specialist offering a second opinion. Nobody can possibly know as much as you can about your personal health.
Comment by Meredith
Scientists and doctors are tax payers, too. Don't write them off because you don't like the fact that research takes time and isn't free. It's incredible the things people take for granted.
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Comment by Anonymous
Living in the UK, I can get birth control on the NHS for free, in any form I want, provided I discuss it with a nurse first. I find it absolutely disgusting that this isn't the case in other countries that are allegedly at the same level of development. As many people have said, far more mediacl conditions are treated with hormonal birth control than with Viagra, many of them far more serious than erectile dysfunction (which affects just 3 things for a man really - his sex life, his ability to make babies the natural way, and his ego).
Comment by silenttrio.com
Anyway.
Being responsible for your own health is not anti-intellectual, and I pointed out that you were in for the opposite extreme of the medical industry if you went to the website I recommended. I am not opposed to doctors or western medicine. I am opposed to:
1. My father had surgery to remove an abcess in his colon and they removed the tube that was supposed to be used to pump antibiotics directly into the area. He almost died.
2. My ex went to an obgyn who saw she had a growth on her cervix (i can't remember its name) that was in "stage 2, almost stage 3." He scheduled her for 1 month later for a surgery which can cause permanent horrible pain and inability to bear children. She had just started going to a chinese herbalist and acupuncturist to treat her uterine and vaginal issues, and she wanted him to schedule a second examination before the surgery. He would not do it. So she went to another doctor a month later, and the doctor said she was "barely in stage 1."
3. My drummer went to a doctor to check his liver health (because of other issues), and they got on the topic of his bad headaches, and the doctor prescribed him something for the headaches that is counterindicated for people with liver issues and anxiety disorders (which my drummer also discussed having with the doctor).
Furthermore, I know TWO people who have cured their cancer through diet. Not that it's the best option for everyone, but a doctor will try and terrify you into giving them hundreds of thousands of dollars for a treatment with a comparable success rate (assuming both are done properly). One of those was the first person to do it as a part of a scientific study, and she couldn't have any other sort of therapy, including simple massage. The medical industry don't give a shit, because it doesn't make them money.
On mental health drugs, I talk to people all the freaking time who think it's exact science. Bah. Most of them treat mental health issues by blocking serotonin reuptake. For one, we don't have the technology to view serotonin levels inside a live brain, so we've only been able to glean information from corpses. Secondly, many mental health disorders are thought (within the medical field) to be caused by excesses of serotonin. Hallucinations are caused by your brain dumping way too much serotonin. Third, the idea that mental health disorders are caused by serotonin deficiency just because increasing the level of serotonin seems to solve it is like saying that a deficiency of aspirin causes headaches because adding aspiring cures headaches.
Doctors don't know jack about nutrition, unless they take it upon themselves. Find a good doctor, indeed. He or she will be an excellent ally. But still, the doctor will not know as much about your body as you can with the slightest effort.
And don't call me anti-intellectual when all you're doing is comfortably toeing the line.
Comment by silenttrio.com
I'm not demonizing all doctors or all scientists. You have huge corporations like Glaxo-Smith-Klein or whoever that pays for R&
Evil, I say. The scientists are being paid to do research, just as a judge is paid to try cases. I can have a problem with the legal system without hating judges.
On the giant R&
Google "paxil the zaps". It's hilarious and horrible. Horrible and hilarious.
Kids: don't smoke, don't put bleach in your kitties, do your own research, eat healthy natural foods, consult with doctors, dieticians, nutritionists, acupuncturist, traditional chinese medicine practitioners, massage therapists, etc and try less invasive options before you let someone cut a part of your body off. It may not be necessary.
That is all I'm saying. Tangent ends in 5, 4, 3...
Comment by Thoraiya Dyer
Demented World
Silenttrio, it looks like what you are opposed to is human error. Humans make mistakes. I'm sure you have made many. A health worker making mistakes is probably going to have more consequences than a steet sweeper making mistakes, but hey, that's why it's difficult to become a doctor, and why nobody should take advice from people who DIDN'T have to jump through hoops and sacrifice years of their lives to earn their qualifications.
Comment by Johnny Come Lately
Jack's Back
they have their place in maintaining a healthy lifestyle but they are no substitute for a doctor.
Comment by silenttrio.com
Doctors know about the zaps. They don't tell you about them when they prescribe Paxil. Paxil has declined in popularity, though, because the pharmaceutical companies aren't giving doctors incentive to prescribe it. The FDA pushed Zoloft through despite a lack of consistent benefit and despite a significant statistical increase in suicide rates.
If you go to someone who is going get a free vacation for selling you drugs, he will sell you drugs. I'm just saying be careful.
@Johhny Come Lately, if you're taking hard drugs (including pharmaceuticals), you should check with your drug dealer before taking anything else.
I know people who have gotten vertebrae bolted together because they have a muscular issue in their back. Should've gone to a massage therapist. I realize people die because they took vitamins rather than go to a doctor for a major infection. Use the right tool for the job in all cases.
But again, be your own primary care physician, and take everything else as a specialist's second opinion. I don't know why this seems wrong to people?
Comment by Cheryl J
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Pharmaceutical companies are without a doubt greedy and self serving. They monopolise drugs that could help people because of profit but they also research and develop drugs that help people live longer and manage their lives. This post was about how ridiculous it is to say that birth control pills are a lifestyle choice which many of the comments above have proven over and over.
Comment by Cibbuano
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I guess I'm just angry. I could go for a Paxil smoothie right about now.
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Comment by Cheryl J
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Well as long as McCain and his buddies don't have to suffer the flops, why should it matter that women have to suffer from hormonal imbalance, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, unwanted pregnancy etc etc. Now I need a paxil smoothie.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i havent seen you around much lately, you might find this post of Rubys funny HERE, its short simple, and to the point!