On July 8th, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Trump Administration's restrictions on birth control coverage. These restrictions allow employers to deny birth control coverage to employees due to "religious or moral objections." This can mean that up to 126,000 people will lose coverage of their form of birth control. I have to wonder to myself, is this what anybody really wants? Of course, pro choicer's would encourage women to make their own choice when it comes to pregnancy and contraceptives. I would like to hear from the perspective of the pro-life community that should be outraged as this will without a doubt increase abortion rates in the United States.
Birth control prevents a person from getting pregnant, therefore reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions. If a pro-lifer would like to decrease the abortion rate, it would only make sense to encourage people with uteruses to use birth control if they are not ready to have a child. The use of birth control should be seen as a positive and responsible action for taking charge of your own gynecological health.
Although I do not plan on working for a religiously affiliated employer, I am disappointed that this option has been stripped for many. As someone who uses birth control, I don't know where I would be without it, possibly pregnant a few times. This is just the beginning for the U.S. Supreme Court and the current administration's plan to strip women and trans men of their reproductive rights.
With this, I will make my argument for why health insurance should not be connected to an employer. This is one of many reasons why we should end this practice. Not only would losing a job cause someone to also lose their health insurance, but it also gives the employer even more control over the employee in their personal life and health. I see a pattern of the government allowing the stripping of healthcare and reproductive rights from citizens, specifically attacking women and trans people. Healthcare has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with personal choice and freedom. A person's employer should not be able to determine whether someone has reproductive freedom over their own bodily autonomy.
