Everyone overthinks everything in this day and age. Schools spent too much time making us weigh options and not enough time teaching us to close our eyes and leap.
Isn't closing one's eyes and leaping one of the reasons unintended pregnancies happen? I'm really not sure how one would teach an academic subject, whether it be science, math, writing, or history from the perspective of "closing one's eyes and leaping" either. I suppose that might work for choosing a project or a course of study, but once you start collecting data or doing a job that requires technical knowledge, analysis and critical thinking are pretty darned important.
I don't think the government belongs in healthcare the same way I don't think they belong in employment. When you purchase healthcare, the contract is between you and your insurance carrier. If they don't want to provide elective abortions, they shouldn't be forced too. On the same token, they shouldn't be able to deny a medically necessary abortion the same way they can't deny other medically necessary surgeries. (coming from someone who had the D&C procedure after my daughter was born and STILL had to yell at the insurance company. Note for anyone with BCBS - if they deny you, you have to call back 3 times before they finally clear the claim to be paid. PSA).
The problem is, the free market has been a real failure when it's come to providing affordable, quality healthcare for all. It's also been terrible at keeping costs down. Health care costs are rising everywhere, but they're lower per capita (both in terms of private and public health care expenditures)
in other countries than the US.
And health is something that affects society as a whole, and the failure of some people to purchase insurance or access preventative health care
affects everyone else's costs (when those uninsured people end up in the emergency room).
Cafeteria plan health care is a problem when people have no idea which services they and their family members might need some day. AWaiting to purchase an option until it's needed is a guaranteed way for insurance costs to go up. Spreading costs around is much more efficient, even when most of us end up paying for some services we don't need right now, or will never need, personally.
With health, it's never just about the individual.
As for things like contraception or abortion being elective procedures that should only be covered if someone's life is in danger, well, wouldn't that go for almost every other drug, surgery, or treatment as well?
Say that someone has broken their leg doing some recreational sport or other voluntary activity. Why should an insurer (or the government) be required to pay for an accident that happened because of that person's lifestyle choices. The person can probably live with a badly healed leg. Sure they'll be disabled, in pain, and possibly have future earning potential or prospects diminished, but that's their fault for choosing to engage in a dangerous activity. Same for health issues that are affected by behaviors like unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, smoking etc. Should insurers be allowed to refuse coverage for type-2 diabetes or lung cancer?
My question is why is
female sexuality (and its potential consequences) the one health-related activity that many people in our society think is a "lifestyle choice" that other people (and insurers) shouldn't have to pay for? It's as if they honestly think there are no benefits or legitimate reasons for a woman to be sexually active outside of motherhood, and that pregnancy, childbearing, and being a parent have no effect on a woman's future health or well being.
Also consider a child, especially one its parents can't support, or one who ends up in the system because she gives it up, will end up costing society far more than contraception or an abortion.