# Why is the Obama administration fighting so hard to legally restrict access to contraception? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 1, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270 "2013-05-01T23:42:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/101 "2013-05-03T00:35:25Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > No, not true. I don’t know where \*\*Cyros \*\*is getting this from. > > While grandparents who are raising their grandchildren do owe them support for the time period they are raising them (acting in loco parentis), and if the minor parents get state aid, some states require the grandparents to provide support, this all ends when the parents are 18. > > [Are Grandparents Obligated to Pay Child Support?](http://www.rosen.com/childsupport/csupportarticles/child-support-obligations-of-grandparents/) Oh, I know that it isn’t true, but it seems to be **Cyros** ’ proposal. I don’t see the public policy of making a grandparent support his 35 year old “child”'s children. ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/102 "2013-05-03T00:43:45Z")
Hey, maybe we could not treat the lives of children as punishment of _anybody_, but instead make sure that all children who come into the world are consciously chosen by people who are financially and emotionally prepared to care for them! What a sane policy that any reasonable person would support. What a tragedy that reasonable people are so hard to find in the Obama administration or its fanbase. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/103 "2013-05-03T00:49:00Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Oh, I know that it isn’t true, but it seems to be **Cyros** ’ proposal. I don’t see the public policy of making a grandparent support his 35 year old “child”'s children. Oh! Whooshy me. I thought he was claiming that’s how it _is_. My bad. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/104 "2013-05-03T01:05:25Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Wait, so if my 17 year old son gets a girl pregnant, I have to pay for care of the child until the child turns 18, or in other words until my son is 35??? Why shouldn’t my son, when he becomes an adult, be responsible for the care of his kid? Best $400.00 I ever spent. Buy him some condoms. “Use one if you have sex. I brought you into this world, I can take you out of it.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/105 "2013-05-03T01:15:30Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Wait, so if my 17 year old son gets a girl pregnant, I have to pay for care of the child until the child turns 18, or in other words until my son is 35??? Why shouldn’t my son, when he becomes an adult, be responsible for the care of his kid? If a parent has the responsibility to green light contraceptive choices then I believe they should bear legal responsibility for the results of their choices. If the child is able to take responsibility for their own contraceptive choices then they can bear full responsibility for the results. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/106 "2013-05-03T01:39:21Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Until a minor child is actually pregnant, married or in the armed service, in most (all?) states, she needs her parent’s consent for non-emergency medical care, including getting a prescription to prevent getting pregnant. There are exceptions for venereal disease testing and treatment, but not for risk of pregnancy. > > [Looking For Legal Help - Ohio | OSBA](https://www.ohiobar.org/ForPublic/Resources/LawYouCanUse/Pages/LawYouCanUse-208.aspx) But there is an exception for collecting evidence of abuse, which would likely fit the scenario we were discussing. Also, Planned Parenthood’s [website](http://www.plannedparenthood.org/uhpp/free-emergency-contraception-23864.htm) seems to say they would give it to teenagers with a quick nurse visit. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/107 "2013-05-03T01:44:27Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > But there is an exception for collecting evidence of abuse, which would likely fit the scenario we were discussing. Also, Planned Parenthood’s [website](http://www.plannedparenthood.org/uhpp/free-emergency-contraception-23864.htm) seems to say they would give it to teenagers with a quick nurse visit. How is getting a prescription for contraception “collecting evidence of abuse”? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/108 "2013-05-03T01:44:36Z")
> [@Condescending\_Robot](#): > > What a tragedy that reasonable people are so hard to find in the Obama administration or its fanbase. Reasonable people are difficult to find anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/109 "2013-05-03T02:34:35Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > How is getting a prescription for contraception “collecting evidence of abuse”? The hypothetical that we were discussing was what an under 15 year-old girl being raped by her dad would do. That exception would, I believe, allow her to be seen without parental consent. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/110 "2013-05-03T03:22:23Z")
> [@XT](#): > > No, I’m comparing things that are restricted to minors. Again, how hard is this to understand? > > AFAIK, minors (under 15 years of age) can’t buy condoms either without an adult. I could be wrong about that…feel free to provide a cite if I am. I think that there is a difference between condoms and a morning after pill, as one prevents multiple problems (i.e. it prevents some forms of sexually transmitted disease AND prevents pregnancy, while the other simply prevents pregnancy), but to me the real issue is one of parents having a say in what their minor children should or shouldn’t have access too. OK, so I guess you advocate that minors, or maybe just those under 15 shouldn’t be able to buy any over the counter drugs. No Tylenol, no cough syrup, no Imodium , no Benadryl. All of which can legally be sold to minors, even those under 15. As can non-prescription contraceptives such as condoms, foam and sponges. It is literally only Plan B that is over-the-counter for those over a certain age and prescription only for those under that age. And by way, requiring a prescription doesn’t necessarily mean the parents will have a say- in my state , minors can consent to reproductive health care (including contraception) and specific other types of care on their own. All that requiring a prescription for Plan B does here is make it more expensive . ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/111 "2013-05-03T05:46:43Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Do you have kids? If so, you would have no issue with some creepy adult piercing your 13 year-old daughter’s vagina without your knowledge or consent? Really? You think they should just get a life? I don’t think you can get a “piercing”(as in body jewelry) IN your vagina. The labia or clitoris, yes, but IN the vagina? that would be a new one on me. and when did 13 year olds become legally able to get body mods, tats and piercings without parental consent? granted I’m an old fart but I had to wait until 16 to get my ears pierced. ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/112 "2013-05-03T06:12:35Z")
and no one is mentioning the fact that there are a lot of poor kids out there trying to raise themselves because their parents are never home, drunk or stoned or flat out don’t give a shit. Janie could say “mommy I want to be on the pill” and mommy would say no way! I need that money for dope! and then Janie is preggers and probably winds up like her mom. I see this shit in multiple generations in my neighborhood. I am ALL for Janie mowing lawns or shoveling snow (or getting her boyfriend to do it or at least help) and get those pills and increase her chance of staying in school and having a better life. you’d be amazed at the kids who can make better decisions than their parents. How can you not support someone trying to be responsible? ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/113 "2013-05-03T06:20:24Z")
> [@Condescending\_Robot](#): > > Hey, maybe we could not treat the lives of children as punishment of _anybody_, but instead make sure that all children who come into the world are consciously chosen by people who are financially and emotionally prepared to care for them! > > What a sane policy that any reasonable person would support. What a tragedy that reasonable people are so hard to find in the Obama administration or its fanbase. birth control in the water supply, passing basic parenting classes and community service hours dealing with juveniles delinquents before you get the free antidote. I’d vote for it. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/114 "2013-05-03T07:42:15Z")
> [@sidhechaos](#): > > birth control in the water supply, passing basic parenting classes and community service hours dealing with juveniles delinquents before you get the free antidote. > > I’d vote for it. Right, because there’s no way deliberately poisoning the populace will backfire at all. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/115 "2013-05-03T14:52:56Z")
> [@sidhechaos](#): > > and no one is mentioning the fact that there are a lot of poor kids out there trying to raise themselves because their parents are never home, drunk or stoned or flat out don’t give a shit. Janie could say “mommy I want to be on the pill” and mommy would say no way! I need that money for dope! and then Janie is preggers and probably winds up like her mom. Such an argument could be used to remove any role of a parent over his/her children. “Well, we don’t need those quarterly parent-teacher conferences at school. Some parents are too drunk to attend, so what’s the point?” Because some parents have abrogated their responsibilities doesn’t mean that all parents should be stripped of their basic rights. Further, your solution to the problem is a meager band-aid. If a girl has to live with parents who are never home, habitually intoxicated, sexually assault her, or just plain don’t care, that child has much bigger problems than over the counter access to contraception. ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/116 "2013-05-03T15:31:28Z")
Forcing someone else to have a child is not a “basic right.” ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/117 "2013-05-03T17:18:07Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Such an argument could be used to remove any role of a parent over his/her children. “Well, we don’t need those quarterly parent-teacher conferences at school. Some parents are too drunk to attend, so what’s the point?” A better analogy would be if there was a law that stipulated that no child could attend school unless their parent attended such conferences. > [@jtgain](#): > > Further, your solution to the problem is a meager band-aid. If a girl has to live with parents who are never home, habitually intoxicated, sexually assault her, or just plain don’t care, that child has much bigger problems than over the counter access to contraception True, but those problems are going to made worse by an order of magnitude with a baby in the picture. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/118 "2013-05-03T18:31:30Z")
I normally support the president’s policies. I voted for him, and I don’t regret it. That said, on this issue, he’s wrong. No one should _ever_ need someone else’s permission to _not_ have a child. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/119 "2013-05-03T19:12:25Z")
> [@XT](#): > > No, I’m comparing things that are restricted to minors. Again, how hard is this to understand? > > AFAIK, minors (under 15 years of age) can’t buy condoms either without an adult. I could be wrong about that…feel free to provide a cite if I am. Just to put a nail into the coffin of this idea, the Safeway across the street had condoms on open shelves, with no age restriction signs. Anyone can pick them up and go through self checkout. Alcohol is also on shelves, but there are large signs at checkout giving age restrictions. Maybe Safeway is violating the law - but I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270/120 "2013-05-03T19:18:58Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The reason the administration is fighting so hard to prevent access to contraception for kids is the same reason they are fighting so hard to prevent access to dental care for kids. > > As for the political angle, the FDA decision is sure to be popular with women voters, so long as those women voters don’t have daughters. Last I checked, moms were almost universally opposed to letting their daughters gain access to contraception without their knowledge. Cite? We have two daughters, and my wife has a Masters in reproductive physiology, so she is the expert in this area. What we did was to put our kids on birth control pills long before they needed them, with the excuse of regulating their periods. In that way when they did decide to have sex without our permission they were protected. Period. I rather doubt it changed anything, but it meant no scares. Access to contraception without our knowledge would be fine - but given that humans are human, it is much better to provide it automatically. That is really the only rational course for someone not hung up about their kids’ sexuality. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obama-administration-fighting-so-hard-to-legally-restrict-access-to-contraception/657270.md?page=7)