Everybody loves babies! They are the future! Am I right, or am I right?! WRONG. Insurance companies hate babies. They hate fat babies; they hate skinny babies. Most of all, they hate women, because women have babies.

As congress spins its wheels on a public option and Hilary Clinton sits in her office, all like "I told you this shit was harder than it looked," the insurance industry continues to equate having a vagina with having a pack-a-day habit. Being a woman, it turns out, is considered a pre-existing condition by some providers:

Not only are women charged higher premiums for individual coverage during their child-bearing years, but they also are typically required to purchase expensive riders for maternity coverage.

And there is a body of evidence that shows women have been denied coverage by insurance companies citing "pre-existing conditions" that range from having previously given birth by cesarean section to having been a victim of domestic abuse.

I mean, this mostly makes sense, because men shouldn't have to pay for services related to a process that doesn't affect them at all, like the propagation of the human race. And most women who have been abused are probably prone to reckless behavior, or else where would the saying "bitches get stitches" have even come from?

This lady is scared that her baby will grow up to perpetuate systemic sexism Anyway, there's a loophole: being sterile--by chance or choice--can save you big $$$ on insurance. Not that choice matters much in the healthcare debate: Providers and religious zealots have historically and fervently fought to avoid covering family planning services that could prevent unwanted pregnancies. It's safe to assume that they support opponents of socialized medicine, largely the same Republicans who would preach sex-ed from a pulpit and seek to restrict reproductive choice. According to these compassionate conservatives, your choice is chastity or eternal hellfire. The whole system is suffering from a massive Madonna-whore complex.

Of course, these are the same awesome people who assume that every woman in her "child bearing years" is just salivating at the idea of hubbying up and reproducing like mad. Personally, I keep a running list in my head of reasons not to have kids. It's not that I don't want a litter of my own through which to live out my unrealized dreams and correct my mistakes--I adore half-bodies. But if it turns out that I'm not built to bear babies, I just don't want to spend years lamenting my lost womanhood or whatever. Luckily for my list, New-Depression America may just be the best place on Earth to be barren: Besides insurance issues, the maternity leave is totally crappy, and the Disney Channel has really gone downhill. 

[NPR]