Women in Colorado can now buy birth control without going to the doctor, sort of like men can with condoms. The new law will allow women to access to contraceptives without paying costly co-pays or out-of-pocket fees associated with doctor’s appointments.
Colorado joins California and Oregon in allowing pharmacists to prescribe oral contraceptives, commonly knows as “the pill.”
Some have expressed concern that it will be total anarchy ― that contraceptives will be passed out like lollipops without any medical supervision, but that’s not the case at all.
Women will be required to complete a questionnaire, get their blood pressure checked and consult with a pharmacist before being able to purchase birth control.
The legislation will expand access to birth control, which has been shown to reduce the overall abortion rate. Similar programs have been tested in other cities and states and have led to declines in teen pregnancy and huge Medicaid savings as well, because childbirth is way more expensive than birth control.
So this seems like a no-brainer, even for conservatives right? It’s fiscally conservative, and is in line with their anti-abortion stance as well.
You know where this doesn’t work for conservatives? It violates the right wing ideals of Christian sexual repression, so it’s bad!
Many ideological, religious right-wingers oppose abortion because they believe there should be a punishment for extramarital, recreational sexual activity. Ideological, religious right-wingers also sometimes don’t really care about preventing STDs because again, STDs are the punishment for promiscuity or, at a more basic level, extramarital, recreational, non-procreative sex.
States like Colorado and Texas represent perfect case studies on the correct and incorrect way to handle young people having sex. After Texas closed reproductive health clinics in 2011, for example, the maternal death rate skyrocketed.
What it really comes down to is that conservative policies on sex are ineffective and lead to bad outcomes, while liberal policies save money, save lives and reduce abortions. It’s really that simple.