Free contraception for women

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Sunny said:
What is one sided about it? It is female contraception. Has nothing to do with men. Comparisons with buying condoms are just ridiculous. Why don't you actually read up on the issue before dismissing it. And you had problems with the measure earlier. You seem to think that because they spent money on womens health, that men should get the same thing. Are we gender balancing the budget now? If mens health needs some funding, then argue that. Resenting money being spent on womens health is just pathetic.

And you don't have to justify your views to anyone. There was a ridiculous post on AAM a few months ago from a woman that asked why do men always say 'what about men' when women issues are being discussed. I argued strongly against it at the time because there is an issue around mens issues being ignored but when you try to bring up mens health on a thread about female contraception, I can see the woman's point of view.
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Paul didn't make any comparison to condoms. The question was why was there no measures around men's health. That's all.
 
Paul O Mahoney said:
Fine but where is the balance?
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What sort of balance are you crying out for here? An equal amount of money set aside for condoms for men or just an equal amount of money set aside for any men’s only issue?
If it’s the former I would argue that funding free women’s contraception is a more cost effective measure as they tend to cover a time period as opposed to per usage with condoms. If it’s the latter then my response would be grow up, it’s a ridiculous point of view that just because somebody got something that you need to “balance” the books for everybody else. There isn’t a bottomless pit of money on offer so the measures should be targeted where they will do the most good rather than ensuring everybody feels they got just as much as everybody else.
 
Paul O Mahoney said:
Fine but where is the balance?
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What balance are you talking about? So they spent 31m euro on Womens health. So you want to see 31m spent on mens health? Is that how we do budgets now? Anything that might benefit women or men more, we should see a balance for the other gender. They are dealing with things like period poverty and access to female contraception which are female issues. There are also increased supports for domestic abuse victims that while predominately women will help men as well.

I have no issue with starting up a campaign around men health issues and getting increased funding. But taking a good news story for women out of todays budget and turning it into a 'what about the men' thread is completely wrong. Just my opinion though. Like I say, I have no issue with the measure. You called it a fudge for reason and I simply don't agree.
 
€31 million might be a bargain.

How much does the state spend on a child whose parent's cant afford to maintain them?
How much does an abortion procedure cost?
This can be seen as a preventative of a whole host of costs.

I wonder has there been a cost benefit analysis of this action? How much money will this save the Irish state.
 
I suppose that if you're struggling to afford contraception, you certainly can't afford a baby. So this is a good thing and might even save the taxpayer some cash in the long run.

Couple of questions, though?

1. If contraception is to be funded, why not include all methods, eg condoms and vasectomies? These may well be the optimum solution for some women as they more free of adverse side effects.

2. I really can't see the logic of putting an age limit on it! Unless it's a blatantly transparent grab at the youth vote.
 
The cost of the contraceptive measures is thought be around €10m. I am not sure this budget item is worth two pages of discussion on AAM to be honest.

With reduced transport costs and free contraception, its a good budget for young women! And men of course!
 
Baby boomer said:
2. I really can't see the logic of putting an age limit on it! Unless it's a blatantly transparent grab at the youth vote.
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Well I image there are a number of reasons, firstly the younger you are the less you are likely to be earning and therefore will benefit most from this and secondly after 25 the percentage of women who would be starting to think about starting a family would likely increase dramatically. It could also just be similar to the free gp care for kids in that they have started to with an age bracket and may increase it next year.
 
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