Other Views: Contraception coverage a good move

(U-WIRE) RALEIGH, N.C. -- Acting more than a few years too late, the U.S. Congress finally passed a measure that will ease the financial burden of federally-employed women trying to engage in careful family planning.

The bill, part of a huge budget package that made it through Congress Wednesday, will expand health care coverage for 1.2 million females, allowing them to purchase contraceptive devices under the umbrella of their federal health insurance plan.

Right now, only 19 percent of federal health insurance plans cover all types of prescription contraceptives. That is unacceptable. Contraception is an essential part of health care. Responsible family planning is a necessary component of any modern nation.

Besides, federal health care plans are already picking up the tab for numerous "lifestyle" drugs, including Viagra. Doesn't it seem hypocritical to pay for impotency pills without paying for contraceptives? Don't the two go hand in hand?

But that is neither here nor there.

This bill is important not because of recent decisions to cover all sorts of new drugs, but because women have been asking for this type of help for years. Family planning should not be a privilege. Like other valid forms of health care, family planning is a right that each person should have be allowed, regardless of financial status: No couple should be forced to make a decision between family planning and another expenditure. It is high time that such a potential financial burden be removed.

This one isn't that hard to figure out. In fact, this should be a bipartisan issue. What better way to avoid unnecessary abortions than to promote responsible family planning? What better way to stem child abuse and neglect then to try to ensure that each child is born into a family that is seeking children?

So, kudos to Congress for wading through some tough political waters and doing the right thing. Finally, a bill that will help couples in one of life's most important undertaking: Planning a family.