I'm kind of tired of people misinterpreting Mike Huckabee's comments. Women can't control their libidos and need the help of Uncle Sugar. Awful! Right? Except he somehow managed to say that that's what DEMOCRATS believe. He doesn't believe that at all(!), but you should be angry and insulted that Democrats think that. It's easy to take these words out of context. After all, I'm pretty sure this is what conservatives ACTUALLY believe. It's pretty ballsy of him to claim this is a liberal opinion. Projection, really.
Conservatives are running out of arguments. They realize they've been called out for the War on Women and now they are denying it's ever existed. But let's be realistic: it exists. For Huckabee to say that a woman's independence means she shouldn't need birth control but should simply control the amount of sex she has is nonsense. By the same idea, we should all be "independent" of health insurance and just never get sick. That'll show how powerful we are! Wait, I think they are trying to send that message as well.
Let me send a message to everyone who isn't sure what birth control is for. It's not an excuse for an all-you-can-sex buffet. It's about making sure you can finish college. It's about keeping menstrual pain to a manageable level. Keeping your cycle predictable. Making sure you are in a financially healthy situation before bringing a life into the world. Avoiding having a child if you NEVER want to be a parent. It's not only single or dating people who use it. I, a married woman with a baby, am taking it. My doctor told me to wait a year after my C-section before having a second child so I can fully heal. Not only did birth control allow me to choose the timing of my (very wanted) child, but now it will ensure one aspect of my physical health for the near future.
When I was on the pill before my child, I got it for free at Planned Parenthood because I was in the low income bracket. That's right! I needed free birth control because I could not afford it on my own at the time. The alternative? Not having birth control, having a baby when I could not afford it, and being plummeted into financial ruin. Do conservatives realize that those are the choices many women face? The third option of course is abortion. Isn't it less objectionable to prevent a pregnancy than to terminate one? Certainly less traumatizing (emotionally and physically) for the woman. Less expensive for all.
So let me tell you what Democrats REALLY think, Mr. Huckabee. We want the option to control our bodies, our lives, our destinies. Choice. It benefits us as individuals and as a society (more educated people out there, happier families--every child a WANTED child). And if "Uncle Sugar" enables us to meet our goals by keeping our lives from getting derailed, that doesn't take away our dignity. Giving us a choice doesn't take away our independence or our agency. It empowers us.