Plan B? What's Plan B?
Unless I've really misquoted, that's a Wizards reference.
Our moderate Republican President Obama this week overruled the FDA and said that the Plan B abortion pill can not be sold over the counter, without prescription. While he's very much in line with Shrub in the fiscal policy area, he is usually more Left on his social policies. That puts him in line with old moderate Republicans, from Eisenhower & Nixon in the White House to others that existed before the Boll Weevils, the Southern Democrats, finally switched parties and help start this large rightward march.
What's interesting is that his Plan B decision is supported by both extremes this time. I'll recreate the argument I used on an internet comment thread, because I want to and can.
The main argument the folks decrying Plan B seem to bring up is "do you want your 10 year old daughter buying this at a drug store?" It's an idiotic argument, but I'll deal with the specifics in a minute.
Strong left wing extremists support government intrusion openly. That they think of the government as a much bigger parent, and regulating how people act is fine. They think that the government should "protect the children". I think it's foolish, but at least the position is consistent.
Strong right wing extremists spend most of their time decrying government. It's too big. It can't do anything right.To have anything in it I don't like is Socialism! And, of course, "keep your government hands off my Medicare!" However, while shouting this, they also demand government intrusion into the private lives of people they don't like or to follow their religious beliefs regardless of the separation of Church and State. They seem like the much bigger hypocrites and there's no doubt they're shouting the loudest. I'm also quite sure they'll give Obama no credit for the decision he made. After all, giving him credit wouldn't be hypocritical, so that's just not in them to do.
So why's the decision idiotic? First, condoms are sold over the counter. You only need Plan B if you should have used condoms or the condom failed. If your kid is having sex, you have much bigger issues than if a safe drug is over the counter.
Second, 10 year old? Come on! Point one is even bigger if that's really a worry. The most likely scenario it a teen using it. The boy who cries wolf is rather annoying. One person even said his 10 year old couldn't read complex instructions, so that means the drugs shouldn't be sold. The instructions aren't complex. If your 10-year old can't read that well, again, you have other problems and social services should probably be involved.
The biggest issue that really comes out of it is a combination of idiotic and hypocritical. I really think that they're intentionally making such dumb claims in order to hide their real reason for being against the over the counter sale: They want all abortions to be illegal.
They don't want affordable access to a "morning after pill" because they don't think women have the right to make such a decision at all or at any time. As they're such morons as to think a single cell is a human, they won't wish to allow women an easy, safe, inexpensive way to avoiding a surgical and more dangerous abortion procedure. They think we're too ignorant to realize that's their main purpose.
Obama is helping these people. I'll be honest, I don't know if it's because, on social programs only, he's siding with the liberals, or because he's truly a moderate Republican and that allowing Plan B is just wrong from his conservative side. It's just hard to tell.
Our moderate Republican President Obama this week overruled the FDA and said that the Plan B abortion pill can not be sold over the counter, without prescription. While he's very much in line with Shrub in the fiscal policy area, he is usually more Left on his social policies. That puts him in line with old moderate Republicans, from Eisenhower & Nixon in the White House to others that existed before the Boll Weevils, the Southern Democrats, finally switched parties and help start this large rightward march.
What's interesting is that his Plan B decision is supported by both extremes this time. I'll recreate the argument I used on an internet comment thread, because I want to and can.
The main argument the folks decrying Plan B seem to bring up is "do you want your 10 year old daughter buying this at a drug store?" It's an idiotic argument, but I'll deal with the specifics in a minute.
Strong left wing extremists support government intrusion openly. That they think of the government as a much bigger parent, and regulating how people act is fine. They think that the government should "protect the children". I think it's foolish, but at least the position is consistent.
Strong right wing extremists spend most of their time decrying government. It's too big. It can't do anything right.To have anything in it I don't like is Socialism! And, of course, "keep your government hands off my Medicare!" However, while shouting this, they also demand government intrusion into the private lives of people they don't like or to follow their religious beliefs regardless of the separation of Church and State. They seem like the much bigger hypocrites and there's no doubt they're shouting the loudest. I'm also quite sure they'll give Obama no credit for the decision he made. After all, giving him credit wouldn't be hypocritical, so that's just not in them to do.
So why's the decision idiotic? First, condoms are sold over the counter. You only need Plan B if you should have used condoms or the condom failed. If your kid is having sex, you have much bigger issues than if a safe drug is over the counter.
Second, 10 year old? Come on! Point one is even bigger if that's really a worry. The most likely scenario it a teen using it. The boy who cries wolf is rather annoying. One person even said his 10 year old couldn't read complex instructions, so that means the drugs shouldn't be sold. The instructions aren't complex. If your 10-year old can't read that well, again, you have other problems and social services should probably be involved.
The biggest issue that really comes out of it is a combination of idiotic and hypocritical. I really think that they're intentionally making such dumb claims in order to hide their real reason for being against the over the counter sale: They want all abortions to be illegal.
They don't want affordable access to a "morning after pill" because they don't think women have the right to make such a decision at all or at any time. As they're such morons as to think a single cell is a human, they won't wish to allow women an easy, safe, inexpensive way to avoiding a surgical and more dangerous abortion procedure. They think we're too ignorant to realize that's their main purpose.
Obama is helping these people. I'll be honest, I don't know if it's because, on social programs only, he's siding with the liberals, or because he's truly a moderate Republican and that allowing Plan B is just wrong from his conservative side. It's just hard to tell.