[Mrs. Don-o]

"...few women I know can comfortably shell out more than $1,000 at the gynecologist's office."

OFCOL ("Oh fer cryin' out loud!") Walt-mart carries oral contraceptives (Sprintec and Tri-Sprintec) for $27 for the 3-month pack = $9 a month. Get your sorry-asterisk boyfriend to pay for it.

And as for the single mothers "stretching every dollar to feed their kids"? Single? No partner? Then why would they need a contraceptive?

And about "stretching every dollar": by far the highest expenditure for food on US EBT cards --- topping $357,700,000 a year--- is "soft drinks."

You could kinda stretch things by foregoing a couple 6-packs of Pepsi.

Then there's the whole issue of birth control vs self-control.

But you know what Mrs. Don-o's going to say about that. You might have to say "Not tonight, and not tomorrow night either" to that guy who's now in your kitchen drinking all your Pepsi.

[Buckeye McFrog]

"...few women I know can comfortably shell out more than $1,000 at the gynecologist's office."

A lot of us have a deductible at least that high if we break our ankle and go to the Emergency Room.

[Vigilanteman]

Haven't priced them lately, but back in the day when the Mrs. had three kids in just over four years (all who grew up to be responsible, productive citizens, by the way), one of those super sized 3 dozen packs of condoms went for about $10.

Don't know what they are today, but they lasted us just over a month. You could even mail order variety packs for less. Sometimes we even find unopened ones here and there when we unpack boxes to downsize our now empty nest, LOL!