Steven Benen, Washington Monthly [1], has his knickers in a twist because he believes free citizens should forced by the federal government to cover the costs of a woman’s pregnancy. Benen blasts Arizona Senator Jon Kyl for having the audacity to propose that citizens and not the federal government choose their level of health care coverage:
It generated laughter in the hearing room, and with good reason, but it’s worth emphasizing why Kyl’s argument is worthy of derision. In the hopes of making insurance cheaper, Kyl is comfortable with not covering basic maternity care. The status quo — only 21 states require insurers to provide maternity care benefits — is just fine with the #2 senator in the GOP leadership. If discriminatory practices boost industry profits, it’s just the free market working as it should.
The Lord only knows on what planet Benen resides, but in the United States, since 1973, a woman”s pregnancy has been an entirely voluntary condition. That is, it is entirely the woman’s choice to go to term. Being that pregnancy is entirely a woman’s choice, it should be entirely her obligation to foot the bill for the costs of her decisions.
Insurance was intended to cover the costs of unexpected high cost events. Insurance should not be bastardized to cover routine, expected and planned events. You buy insurance on your house to cover in case of fire or flood, but not for mowing the law and painting the exterior.