Putting “paternity” into maternity care

The Affordable Care Act under Obamacare legislates that women cannot be charged higher rates than men.

This is causing quite a bit of controversy. Apparently it just dawned on everyone that women can have babies, and that those babies cost quite a bit of money.

And now no one can charge a woman more for having babies. Curses.

In short, Republicans and even some Democrats are pushing back on this legislation. They want men to pay less because, get this, men don’t necessarily have to be involved in their child’s life.

Yes, this is a thing that is happening in America.

If we allow men to “opt out” of fatherhood, we will send a pretty broad message.

Example: no one wants to pay for all the cancer patients — after all, they’re the ones who got cancer in the first place.

But this does ask a very important question — how far should this equality clause go? It’s economically sound. The sick have to pay more for their treatments to lessen the burden on the healthy.

This is precisely why they wrote these equality clauses. Insurance only works if everyone — the sick, the healthy, men, women — pays into it.

So maybe you’re not paying for your own sickness, but you are paying for the health of whoever is in your network. This is how insurance worked even before it was government-mandated that everyone be covered.

Beyond that, the idea that men get to pay less because they do less is absolutely ludicrous.

Last time we checked, it takes two ingredients to make a baby, regardless of race, creed, color or sexuality.

Plus, the amount of thumb-twiddling that is done about the plight of the single mother in America is grossly out of line.

Here we are presented with a real opportunity to enact a far-reaching equality clause to see some real change, and we are gladly pointing that gun at our feet and pulling the trigger.   

Sure, while men still have the ability to decide whether or not they want to be a father, they should still help pay for all the babies they    will make.

Even if you are the most misogynistic beta-male, you can admit that when it comes to baby-making, men and women are equal and equally responsible.

If nothing less, the equality clauses allow mothers access to prenatal care who would otherwise not be able to afford it. It would save a lot of lives.

About half of these babies being born, after all, are male. Men could think of it as a delayed payment for their birth.

So step up, be a real man and pay your insurance.

Someday, someone might need it.

­— opinion@idsnews.com
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