In the NYT article, she addressed that issue- in fact, I got the feeling that this was kind of the point. Most women can't afford even the testing for to see if they should get this procedure.

I saw the FB craziness earlier so I didn't think I needed to watch the clip especially as it's 20 mins but WOAH HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD!! Quality insanity reality TV. I'm only ten minutes in but had to say that plus the tipping thing is unforgivable. I just hope this doesn't unravel into tragedy of some kind so that I…

I AM WONDER WOMAN. I AM A GREAT CHEF, A GREAT WIFE, AND A GREAT MOM TO MY KIDS. AND WE WILL BE PARENTS TO A HUMAN KID, ONE DAY TO. WE WILL SHOW ALL OF YOU.

They don't have a HUMAN CHILD yet, they have "three wonderful children trapped in cat bodies," which certainly doesn't sound like a thing they talk about in the tumblr underbelly.

Every time they bring up their "Human Child" I picture a blown up rubber glove with a face on it.

They lost me at "oppression" in the first comment. If you have a restaurant and you volunteer for a TV show, chances are good that you're not "oppressed".

For her to bring such attention to a non-covered surgery is ultimately a positive because it's possible (not likely, but possible) it will add pressure to insure women for whom this might make sense.

Right, well, I also see a lot of commenters on here saying "insurance WILL cover it." There are millions of poor people in this country that don't have insurance. They also don't have access to health care facilities, and don't have ready Internet access either so they can't even do the research. I also see a lot of…

While I certainly don't judge anyone on this site for viewing Jolie's announcement through an American lens (after all, the site is American and caters largely to an American audience), her public reach is international. Women in other countries that don't face the same health care barriers but are still struggling…

Having heard a first-hand perspective of how much treatment you need for something like cystic fibrosis, I'd wager that you'd be making the right choice, too. 3+ months in the ICU alone probably costs more money than I've made in my entire life.

A bit off-topic but I actually know the guy who needs the lung transplant/received the Trump donation through a different online community and he's from Canada originally and has lived there his whole life so it's not like he moved there just for the health care or anything.

Agreed! Otherwise, all of this "Save the Boobies!" (SERIOUS eye roll over here) shit is definitely just another symptom of how we can't talk about women's bodies/health without talking about them as discrete sexual parts.

But isn't this part of the conversation? Isn't this part of what she wants us to talk about since she acknowledges how privileged she was to have the choice to do this? We can talk about health insurance, we can talk about how difficult a decision like this is for women (because, boobs.) She came out with this to…

I agree with you 100%. It does strike me that with Jolie's positions on other social issues that she is likely to be 100% on board with universal healthcare. I can't find a public statement where she says that but it would be consistent with her basic worldview.

But why is the lack of affordability of health care to many women (including those on medicare/medicaid) a less relevant topic than Angelina Jolie's decision as a celebrity?

She also states in her piece that these tests need to be available for people who don't have money. She knows how lucky she is to be able to afford testing and treatment, and is calling for systemic change so that women don't need to be rich to make life saving decisions like this.

I appreciated that she said "It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested..." She knows that her privilege has allowed her better health care - and perhaps even implies that this privilege out to be extended. I too hope that us "normals" (and I have TWO health insurances!) can get access to this test…

I completely agree with you. What was great about the op-ed is that she addresses the fact that she's privileged. And, I really do think there's something to the idea of exposing the "luxuries" the privileged have access to as a means of making it more attainable to the rest of us. People don't demand something…

THIS.

I hear what you're saying and I agree, but all the money and opportunity in the world doesn't make this an easy decision.