The United States government has been handed over to Republicans and the new legislators are already making waves with their proposals. While working to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, Senate Republicans voted to block an amendment that would require health insurance companies to continue to cover the cost of birth control. States all over the country have already defunded Planned Parenthood, a vital organization in supplying affordable contraception for women, and now the last string to affordable birth control has snapped.
There are a multitude of problems that come with forcing women to pay out-of-pocket for their birth control that Senate Republicans seem to have overlooked – or simply ignored.
Recent studies show the rate of abortions in the United States has dropped to an all-time low since Roe v. Wade. Part of this drop has been attributed to better access to birth control. Access to affordable contraception stops the unwanted pregnancies before they even happen. Women in low-income households have the opportunity to prevent pregnancy until they feel financially secure enough to have a child and young women working to get through college have one less thing to worry about. Getting rid of access to free or low cost birth control is only destroying the opportunity to keep abortion rates at bay.
Contraception is used for far more than just preventing unwanted pregnancies. Women around the nation use the pill, the bar, IUDs, and other forms of contraception to control their hormones. It helps women who suffer from PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and endometriosis, regulates period frequency, lightens the heaviness of each period, can put menstruation on hold for months or years, reduces the pain from cramps, shortens the length of periods, caps nausea from period pains, helps clear acne, and so much more. All in all, it gives women control over their own bodies. Senate Republicans who voted against keeping contraception coverage are essentially against women having the opportunity to control one part of our bodies we can actually take moderate command of. Without birth control, we have no control.
To make matters worse, Senate also voted against a bill that would prevent insurance companies from viewing pregnancy as a “pre-existing condition,” which allows them to either increase their prices or reject them altogether. If birth control is no longer covered, any pregnancy that comes from the lack of birth control isn’t covered either. These votes are completely eviscerating women’s health care.
Personal beliefs against pre-marital sex or contraceptives should not dictate what other women do with their bodies. If a woman wants to go out and hook up with guys every weekend, that’s her business. If a woman is on birth control to regulate her period, that’s her business. If a woman wants to simply prevent unwanted pregnancy, that’s her business.
Approximately 55 million American women rely on contraception to maintain what little amount of control we still have over our bodies. Defunding Planned Parenthood already took away the security we had of finding access to affordable health care, but removing contraception coverage from insurance plans completely eradicates what little health security women have left. It’s removing a woman’s option to take control of her own body.
Our bodies. Our choice.
