Staci Appel’s Sense of Entitlement

Most reasonable people would see the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling on the Obama administration’s birth control mandate as protecting basic religious freedom.

A family-owned company or “closely-held” company shouldn’t be mandated by their government to violate their religious conscience by having to pay for an insurance plan that covers abortifacients or birth control in general.

(They shouldn’t be mandated to provide any kind of health insurance, but that’s a whole different subject.)

We are told the privacy of the bedroom is sacrosanct and decisions related to women’s health are also private.

The only problem is that they want others to pay for their private behavior and private decisions.

The Iowa Democratic Party and Iowa 3rd Congressional District candidate Staci Appel don’t see it that way.

But then again, I said reasonable people, and when it comes to issues like this liberals are rarely reasonable.

Iowa Democratic Party spokes person Christina Freundlich said after the ruling, “No woman should have her access to affordable birth control cut off because of her boss’ opinion.”

Appel said in a released statement after the SCOTUS ruling on Monday, “Every Iowan deserves access to high quality health care coverage, regardless of where they work and women’s health care decisions should be made between her and her doctor, not her employer. Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is a blow to Iowa’s working women and I respectfully disagree with the Court’s decision.”

First, access has not been blocked.  Hobby Lobby employees still have health care coverage.  No one is blocking access to birth control that they decide to pay for on their own.

Second if you don’t like the health care coverage your employer offers you are free to change employers.  Be thankful you have health coverage those.

Third, how much of a sense of entitlement to you have to have to complain about a company whose plan still offers coverage for birth control?  Hobby Lobby’s insurance plan covers 16 types of contraceptives.

This is denying access to “high quality health care coverage” or “affordable birth control”?

Here is what Hobby Lobby provides for their female employees (HT Deroy Murdock):

1. Male condoms
2. Female condoms
3. Diaphragms with spermicide
4. Sponges with spermicide
5. Cervical caps with spermicide
6. Spermicide alone
7. Birth-control pills with estrogen and progestin (“Combined Pill)
8. Birth-control pills with progestin alone (“The Mini Pill)
9. Birth control pills (extended/continuous use)
10. Contraceptive patches
11. Contraceptive rings
12. Progestin injections
13. Implantable rods
14. Vasectomies
15. Female sterilization surgeries
16. Female sterilization implants

Obviously the male condoms or vasectomies is something she would choose in conjunction with her husband.

This is what Hobby Lobby will not provide coverage for what they (and most pro-life folks) believe are abortifacients – contraceptives that instead of simply preventing fertilization kill unborn children while they are fertilized egg.

1. Plan B (“The Morning After Pill”)
2. Ella (a similar type of “emergency contraception”)
3. Copper Intra-Uterine Device
4. IUD with progestin

Hobby Lobby does not have a policy in place that prevents their employees from using these types of contraceptives.  They just are unwilling to pay for them.  How entitled does one have to be to think providing for 16 different types of contraceptives instead of 20 is blocking access from quality health care?