Recently I've read several Letters to the Editor from the Savonarola Republicans sneering at access to contraceptives. Their attitude seems to be that they pay all the taxes and should be able decide what the money goes for; there's a sort of put-upon whine in their tone. One writer even compared access to birth control to getting free automobiles and clothing — as if health care were some frivolous luxury.
Actually, we all pay taxes. The whining about having to pay suggests a sense of unfairness, as if they are bearing all the burden.
Of course, if what these people really cared about was cost-effectiveness, paying for access to contraception would ultimately save money. Hospital delivery room costs and pre- and post-natal care expenses are much higher than birth control pills and condoms.
But the Savonarolas are really just resentful over the perception that they are paying for other people to have sex — and for pleasure, not procreation.
Charles Rammelkamp, Baltimore