I'm a 19 year old male and I'm sexually active. I'm not sure why but I have become sexually impotent and it's embarrassing and painful to such a degree that I cannot even understand. I'm sexually active as long as my supply of Viagra is abundant. I'm a good looking guy and I'm about to turn 20.

The purposes of Birth Control and Viagra are obviously no where related but I can assure you that the feelings from being impotent (lack of masculinity, depression, and other conflicting emotions) should be considered when you question why Viagra is backed by medical insurance and birth-control is not.. Just a young Viagra users $0.02.

Micah,

To be fair, eab5094 did not question the reason why Viagra is backed by insurance. She questioned why birth control was not.

Not being from the US, I am unfamiliar with what is and isnt backed by the insurance companies there.

I just find it odd that everytime I see this topic, a lot of women will say that the reason men have ED is because the body is getting old and this is a sign of old age and men take Viagra to lustfully still enjoy sex even when their body is failing. What they often forget to mention is that ED affects young men as well, not in as large amounts as older men, but from what I read last time, there are a sizeable lot of young men with ED.

Also, I think because women don't have penises, they can sometimes underestimate the very real, very strong shame that comes from being impotent. Living in a society where men are supposed to be ready at the drop of a hat, where PIV sex requires one to have an erection and where comparisons to dildos and vibrators that never stop and are always hard are rife, I can only begin to guess at what men who have ED must be going through.

Having said all that however, I fully agree that women should also be granted full freedom in regards to their sexual activities and that birth control should be made more affordable for women as well as backed by American insurance companies.

Also, the often cited "fact" that women get depressed more than men...I read somewhere that this isn't exactly true. This is because the signs of depression according to the medical community are those that are more congruent to those expressed more often by women, rather than men. Those articles that I have read suggest that men show their depression in other ways, most notably anger, or a unusual need to do something or be extremely aggresive or competitive.

Yeah, I was disappointed to hear this Bill O'Reilly style nonsense from Jack Cafferty.

I don't think anyone is saying that viagra shouldn't be covered--just that contraception SHOULD. Contraception should have been covered even before viagra was available, but this is just a further slap in the face to woman who want control over their sexual choices and their lives more broadly.

So is Cafferty implying that pregnancy is not a medical condition? Even though it's considered a "pre-existing medical condition" that is grounds for denying insurance?

Yeah, my first reaction was "I'm pretty sure my PCOS is a medical condition."

Fuckers.

I think both should be covered because, well, people should be able to have sex if hey want to. I feel that if my doctor prescribes something my insurance should cover it and my pharmacist should fill it - neither of them are my doctor and thus don't know me, my medical history, my exact condition or my precise needs.

The only things that should not be covered are things that are purely cosmetic (of course if you are somehow disfigured and require cosmetic procedures simply to live a 'normal' life, I think that should be covered, that's different).

Where do I write to this dumbfuck?

Luna,
Cafferty does his whole Cafferty File blog, but this story is kind of old. Here's CNN's comment form.
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?39

arghhhh!!! if i hear this one more time, from one more idiot reich winger, i swear i just might kick him in the nuts!
endometriosis, you f'ing "moran"! i dare any man to live 1 month with the hell of this medical nightmare! i've spent way too many nights curled up in a fetal position, sobbing, in horrific pain, due to endometriosis. and then assholes like this male come along and claim the pill isn't for a medical condition? aw, i'm so sorry you can't get an erection. and i feel even more empathy when writhing in pain, feeling as if someone is jabbing a steak knife throughout my entire lower and upper abdomen.

But it is used to treat a medical condition, sex.

one fixes a medical condition, one prevents another (pregnancy).

both make sex possible. Yay!

And it's only a medical condition if you want sex to be part of your lifestyle. Just put it in perspective, Jack. If you don't have sex, you won't need E.D. pills. Just accept yourself for the slut that you are.