I think there's a fair bit of anti-intellectualism in there, too. Conservatives can't fathom that there are people who study these issues in order to make decisions about them, nor can they accept that research is more valid than religious dogma.

Not to mention, he's in a tricky position because the old pope didn't die so much as move house. There have been pope wars before, and I can imagine a future where the conservative arm of the Catholic church declares Francis an antipope and reinstates Benedict. Frances will want to avoid that—he'll want to keep a…

Because when a woman is asked about "having it all", the question isn't really about pregnancy or breastfeeding, both of which are largely protected by law for working mothers (at some jobs, sort of, kind of, not perfectly, I KNOW INTERNET). The question is more about the care of children—preparing meals, helping with…

I mean, if it bothers you, keep talking about it? Sex is weird because there are some thing that we can't compromise on—you can't have him wear half a condom, and it wouldn't make sense to wear one half the time or something.

Did you kick him in the balls and suggest he apply an ice pack? That's the only response that makes sense to me.

I once gained a whole cup size in a week in my late twenties when I started taking a hormone for PCOS (not birth control, but a component of it). It was...a weird and painful week.

No joke.

You're so right. I'm a teacher, so I never want to stop teaching people even when they're clearly trolling.

My husband's a feminist too! But just yesterday, he said he though Hobby Lobby "had a point" about IUDs being abortifacient. I informed him that the muffin shop was thereby closed until further science. :)

I have been given Plan B by a doctor. While you can also get it at CVS, and thank god for that, it can also be prescribed by a doctor.

Yeah, because that's a reasonable thing to expect from healthy adults in long term committed relationships, not to mention the fact that she's got dysmenorrhea that gives her demon menses when she isn't being treated with the IUD.

Yes, I am telling you that there are women for whom the IUD is the only effective and safe form of birth control, and the IUD is one of the forms this decision is about. My sister is one such person. The IUD is not "convenient" for her — it's the only contraception she can use due to allergies and hormone intolerance.…

Health insurance is part of compensation—it's part of the benefits package, which, along with a paycheck, is what compensation means. And as I've said above, and to everyone who's made this argument to me in the past few months, the reason there are 20 different kinds of birth control is that not all women can…

No, sorry. There's a gender component here. Vasectomies will still have to be covered, meaning that if a man wants to use his medical insurance to control whether or not he has children, he can do that. It's only women who aren't allowed to use theirs to do so.

My sister is very allergic to latex and unable to use hormonal birth control because it exacerbates menstrual symptoms to an outrageous degree—the IUD is literally the only way she can safely and reliably prevent pregnancy and keep her job. It is a big fucking deal to her and to me by proxy, so much so that I'll…

Or, we could pay less attention to who the President is and more attention to who represents us in the legislature (in this case, the Senate). Yes, the President nominates justices, but they have to be confirmed by our Senators. Presidents have to pick someone they think can pass confirmation—that means that the…

AMEN. Corporations can have their "closely held" bullshit or whatever, but the US government has to abide by the First Amendment.

The LGBT thing is huge—by this same logic, an employer could prevent legally married same-sex couples from sharing health insurance, if the corporation's religion (can't believe that's a concept) doesn't believe in same-sex marriage.

I think it might be easier than that: we just need to stop having sex with men. If every woman stopped having sex with men, I'm guessing we'd get this changed in about two weeks.

Well, I've been prescribed birth control as part of treatment for a medical issue that had nothing to do with my ability to conceive—I wasn't even sexually active at the time. Birth control is medicine—it should be covered by insurance like any other medication.