Is Birth Control Preventive Medicine?

Contraception could be free under health care law  (Yahoo News, by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/31/2010)

Should birth control, like the Pill and IUD's, be considered preventive medicine?  The obvious answer to this question should be yes, since births themselves are billed to a woman's "medical" insurance.  However, as usual, the Catholic Church and its stone-aged morals and ideals, is going to try to fight the portion of the new health care law that would make obtaining anti-pregnancy measures easier for women.  According to the Church, pregnancy is not an "illness" but rather a "condition."  I think all Catholics should refuse to let hospitals bill their "medical" insurance companies next time they are having their sixth child, and then come back and talk about "illnesses" vs. "conditions."

Nearly 93 million prescriptions were written for some form of feminine birth control product last year.  If we could double that number by diminishing the cost barriers some women experience in obtaining these items, the money saved on other programs (food stamps, medicaid, etc.) would be astronomical.

On the other hand, if the law is interpreted in women's favors, there could be a rise in the use of expensive, more reliable devices than the pill.  This may offset any savings I project from less children getting public aid.  But a wash would be a win if it helped women prevent unwanted pregnancies, in my humble opinion. 

The panel tasked with interpreting this portion of the new health care law begins meeting next month.  I will keep this post updated with anything I hear regarding their decision.