“Cui Bono?” from keeping the Pill a prescription drug? …Why, Planned Parenthood, of course.

If you’re wondering why the Left is going ballistic over current proposed legislation by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R, NH) and Cory Gardner (R, CO) that would effectively make oral contraceptives an over-the-counter medicine, why, here you go: “Planned Parenthood alone makes around $1.2 billion each year from contraceptive services.”  It really does just come down to this: money.  There’s a lot of money on the table. You tell an industry that it’s about to lose that huge a chunk of its revenue stream, and it’s going to react.  You almost can’t even blame them for it: effective monopolies always look different from the inside.  In fact, they may not even consider themselves to have an effective monopoly*, insane as that sounds.

Anyway, I know that people are going to be more inclined to focus on the political aspects of this decision, rather than the economic ones. And, trust me: if buggy-whip manufacturers had the partisan clout that Planned Parenthood has we probably still wouldn’t be able to buy a new car unless it came with a ceremonial buggy whip.  But if it was strictly political then Planned Parenthood and its minions would have to give way, considering that 70% of the population thinks that this idea of OTC birth control is just swell.  But, again, money’s involved. Enough money to try to roadblock what’s a pretty commonsense proposal.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: No, the Left doesn’t want ‘free’ oral contraceptive birth control.  They want subsidized oral contraceptive birth control.  That way the price never has to go down – because somebody will end up paying for the birth control. But if everybody does, then, well, who has to worry about spending too much money? Tax money doesn’t count, right?

*If pressed, I would concede ‘dominant market share.’ But that’s as far as I would go.