I like Jindal,he´s a cut to the chase type person.The republicans need to modernize their image an I think Jindal could do that. He knows when to pick fights and when to leave them alone.

Read this earlier, and Jindal makes a good case. But there are health issues with ´the pill´ that need to be addressed by a competent doctor. It is a hormone pill, that will affect the lady´s hormones as well, which could lead to some serious effects if not taken with care. An OTC application could have some unforeseen effects on certain individuals. But I´m all for un-demagoguing issues.

I will see your birth control, and put mary jane on the table, what say you now?

The federal government has to learn to let go of power occasionaly and this is a good place to start. Too many medicines are prescription only. I would like to think that most women can decide for themselves to use contraceptives and more importantly to check with a doctor to see if the type they is using is safe. This is one area where Planned Parenthood could be useful.

Unplanned babies too often lead to single parent families or dysfunctional ones. If women can keep the babies from being conceived, fewer abortions would be performed. That´s good for the individual and society.

#2 is correct about the medical issues. There is at least one current class action lawsuit against the makers of a type touted for those prone to "heavier" periods or experiencing higher levels of PMS symptoms. Perhaps like in the case of pain/narcotic medication, a couple of baseline formulations with minimum hormone levels could be considered for OTC dispensing and those with levels that a doctor deems necessary for patients requiring a different or more potent dosage should remain restricted to prescription forms.

Health issues should never be decided for political reasons. That said, I agree about removing the ability of democrats to demagogue on issues. If the house passed a bill to legalize marijuana, that would respond to the administration´s statement that they won´t police people using it. The plus side is that it sends that issue back to the states where it belongs. Any social issue at all that we can get out of the federal government´s hands and back to the states is a good thing, IMHO.

Why are we supposed to concede something thatnisn´t true? Republicans don´t want to take birth control away from people.

If BC pills go OTC will the pharmaceutical companies be held harmless when women experience the potentially dangerous side effects? I suspect not.

Correct me if I´m wrong but I believe there are alrady several birth control measures available over the counter.

We are talking specifically about ´the pill´ here and, as has already been mentioned, there are some serious medical concerns regarding that particular birth control method.

I´m curious if we would consider putting menopause related hormone treatments over the counter. What about antibiotics? How about returning the statin-based red yeast rice supplement? If these are all ´off the table´ then we are not really talking about putting freedom of choice in the hands of the consumers, we are just talking about a different type of demagoguery

OTC means the customer pays for it. The lawsuit for high-ticket hormones is going nowhere b/c the customers listen to provider warnings and read package inserts "black box warnings" and go online to spot customer complaints-and stop the drug if they have to. Gov´t handouts getters can go blindly to death or dismemberment which will help the lawsuit and the personal injury lawyers. Males who want to be feminized=permanently or temporarily for kicks-have a right to free hormones. I guess the solution is vouchers like food stamps and if you don´t want the product you peddle the vouchers.

I agree !!

This is not accurate. What Jindahl said was that now that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has made this recommendation, the Republicans should support it. There is a big difference in a governor suggesting a prescription drug be sold OTC and supporting a medical group making the recommendation.

There may be medical aspects of this that justify a relaxation of current rules. I´m not a doctor so I can´t speak to this.But I can tell you that when your criteria for doing so is to remove the opportunity for your political enemies to demagogue your position, you´ve only emboldened them to use this tactic even more than they do now. Think of what the progressives could accomplish if they employed this all the time. The next thing you know, republicans might be caving on things like amnesty for those who cross our border illegally or increasing taxes on ´the rich´ . Nah! That could never happen ........

What a monumentally stupid idea. Birth control pills are prescription meds because their selection and use are only safe when monitored by a doctor for potential side effects. Jindahl must be smoking crack.

Jindahl: “Contraception is a personal matter—the government shouldn´t be in the business of banning it or requiring a woman´s employer to keep tabs on her use of it. If an insurance company or those purchasing insurance want to cover birth control, they should be free to do so. If a consumer wants to buy birth control on her own, she should be free to do so.”

What?????

1. The government isn´t banning birth control pills.

2. Employers don´t keep tabs on your prescriptions.

3. Insurance companies ARE free to cover whatever drugs they negotiate with their insureds.

4. People ARE free to buy birth control on their own. If your insurance doesn´t cover it, you just pay for it yourself.

Jindahl´s arguments make no sense. None of the above have anything to do with whether birth control pills are avaiable over the counter, EXCEPT that his solution would make his perceived problem worse, since most health insurance doesn´t cover over the counter drugs. Thanks for nothing.

I guess everyone has completely forgotten about Thalidomide.

I´m a Catholic and I think that birth control pills are the cause of a lot of harm to women and to the environment. I am also a believer in free will. I think the governor makes sense. Go on and contracept your little heart out. Sure you may ruin your health, but it´s your body - right? And you will have to answer to God eventually.

But abortion is non-negotiable. It´s wrong, it kills, it is the modern Moloch.

Lets see. We lost; because we need to grant amnesty (Sean Hannity), because we need to champion gay marriage (glen beck and the cupp woman), because we need to reach out to minorities (jc watts), and because we need OTC birth control (Jindal). These people are fools.

#14, read what #12 said. The doctors most in the position to know have already said it would be okay with them for b-c pills to be over-the-counter. The government has not taken that step. Why? Because OTC meds are paid for by the consumer, but the government has mandated that insurance companies pay 100% for these meds. People used to getting them for free would squawk.

We have a finite number of doctors; currently we are wasting their time, as well as running up insurance costs, for doctor´s appointments solely to renew b-c prescriptions that are not necessary because the pills could be OTC. Jindal is one of the smartest politicians around. He is 100% right on this one.

#15, as a Catholic you should be aware that "the pill" is an abortion, a very early term abortion. It prevents a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall and growing. If you truly believe that life begins at conception, then you should oppose the pill. This is the reason that the Catholic Church opposes it.

As in the katrina debacle where jindal parroted the dems line that everything was Pres. Bush´s fault, he suggests that the best way to support and represent republican´s platforms, is to mimic the dems. And then makes several false statements to support his thinking. Jindal is a wannabee democrat.

#14 makes some good points. As does #9. It is a myth that birth control cuts down on the number of abortions. Condoms are cheap, effective, and OTC. And by the time they are 12 years old, every publicly educated child knows what they are and how to use them thanks to Sex Ed. But in certain cultures here (black) men actively reject condom use and women do not argue with them about it. They use abortion as a "contraception" or they have the baby out of wedlock because it´s totally acceptable.

Call me old fashioned, but this country needs a strong dose of shame and guilt, the most effective forms on birth control IMHO. A girl can dream...

Anything that will stop the endless breeding of illegitimate babies should be encouraged. Some of this breeding is deliberate to get on the welfare teat, or to even increase the amount of benefits the parasite mother´s are already receiving. With the variety of birth control available there is no reason for most young women to get knocked up. They can hand it out free on street corners but it will not stop the breeding because the rewards are so generous for this immoral behavior. It beats working and the breeders, mother or father, are not held responsible in any way.

But let´s require a prescription for vitamins. Wasn´t that a McVain idea?

Jindel is right. Of curse there are serious complications with oral contraceptives. However, those are no worse than large soda pops and goose livers. But of which have been outlawed by the enlightened Democrats. Not to mention the outlawing of certain oils for cooking. Let´s put oral contraceptives OTC. Lets see what happens. If it starts killing people like large soda pops, goose livers and fatty acid oils, then the Dems will outlaw them. And the issue of oral contraceptives will disappear because the benevolent Democrats, in the name of saving us from risk, will outlaw those horrid drugs that are not safe for us. And if the Dems don´t outlaw them, then we have the argument that they have no business outlawing any potentially harmful product we ingest.

There are side affects with anything OTC so I say go for it. Just make sure you put enough warning labels on them-especially one that says, "Take at your own risk"!

This idea doesn´t solve the problem of forcing hospitals and doctors to perform abortions, and make insurance PAY for it, (which means that our tax dollars pay for it).

Anyone remember when George Stephanopoulos asked Romney a question about birth control during a Republican debate? This was a Democrat plan from the beginning and it worked. I think Jindal is right, though there can be serious side effects with bc pills.

#18--the bc pill, used properly, is not an abortion pill. The pill prevents ovulation, so there is no egg to fertilize. A large does of bc pills can be used as a "morning after" pill but that is not the purpose or approved use of these pills.

Thank you #27.

ZReply #2 hit the birth control pill on its head - what I wish would happen is, if BC (pills & others with dangerous side effects) become easier to get the occurences of side effects will quadruple, and the manufacturers will either take them of the market or limit their access to avoid being sued into oblivion.

Thus the libs will have shot themselves in the foot, altho everyone will suffer in the long run.

If they go OTC, insurance companies will not pay anything at all--most people will not like that. This happened with some of the PPIs such as Prilosec and nonsedating antihistamines such as Claritin.

If you go OTC with BCP, you will have people taking them that are too old and getting complications such as blood clots, smokers taking them and getting blood clots, and people taking them when they are already pregnant, leading to possible untoward effects in infants.

A possible solution is to have the pharmacist screen individuals who request them.

IMO, to reduce unwanted pregancies and therefore reduce abortions, I think that you should not make the pills hard to get. However, an individual has to THINK & PLAN AHEAD to take them in advance, which, given what I´ve seen working as a nurse practitioner for the past 15 years, is a problem for many people.

I read the Head Line!

The answer is so simple. Govenor Jindal has the ability to see through the fog.

Although there are health risks with Birth Control Pills. There are health risks with Aspirin, Tylenol, etc. even many vitamins.

The FDA controls the argument, and the FDA is full of liberal Dems who do the bidding of their overlords.

What about the stem-cell debate too? Isn´t that another issue the Dems use to paint Republicans as evil, mean-spirited, and archaic? If stem-cell treatment works, and other countries allow it, why not here? It´s because it´s they want to make a laughingstock of Republicans and deny patients lifesaving treatments.

The FDA controls the argument, and the FDA is full of liberal Dems who do the bidding of their overlords.

What about the stem-cell debate too? Isn´t that another issue the Dems use to paint Republicans as evil, mean-spirited, and archaic? If stem-cell treatment works, and other countries allow it, why not here? It´s because it´s they want to make a Republicans reviled by denying patients possible lifesaving treatment.

#27 -- reports of the ovulation-suppressing effects of the bc pill are based on the "old", higher-dose forms of it, which are no longer in use due to severe side effects. The lower-dose forms in current use do not reliably prevent ovulation; they rely for their "effectiveness" (i.e. no visible living child) on making the uterine environment physically hostile to the implantation of the newly conceived child, who then dies and is expelled along with the menstrual fluids. IUDs have a similar effect.

Thank you, #34.

The Republicans have got to do SOMETHING to beat back the MSM narrative that they want to ban all birth control. I work at a major health care provider that will lose alot of money when Obamacare kicks in and reduces payouts to providers. There are many young LPNs, aides, etc. here who are always complaining about the long hours, need for more staff, no decent raises in years, etc. But the ones I spoke with ALL voted for Obama even after I pointed out that Obamacare is going to make their job even harder if they are lucky enough not to get laid off. The number one reason they said they HAD to vote for Zippy: "The Republicans want to outlaw birth control!" There was no convincing them otherwise.

One can find a reason not to do anything, or to do everything. In this I stand with Jindal. Consumers should be informed, and then take responsibility for the outcomes. The near-consensus morality of birth control pills and the denial of uterine attachment to a zygote is much different than the abortion of a fetus for most. Politically, the mantra of life begins at conception is a loser among young women if it means denial of birth control.