Grab Them By the Birth Control

Adriana Martinez, Staff Writer

This past week the Trump Administration is attempting to take another toll on Women’s Health Care by restricting the insurance coverage for birth control due to religious beliefs some companies may have. The current health Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, issued that most companies provide some payments or co-payments that cover their employees access to birth control. This new attack on Women’s Health Care will deny over 500 million women with covered access to birth control that prevents not only unwanted pregnancies but medical issues women have across the U.S.

The attack will allow many companies to deny women affordable access to birth control that is making the process for a women to get these health care coverage’s an even larger hurdle for women to jump. It will be a huge setback to the decrease of pregnancies in teens and young women. In the 90’s 61 out of 1,000 women were the average amount of teen pregnancies, while in 2014 the numbers decreased to 24 out of 1,000 women. This access not only to young women but to every women who uses birth control for not just contraception, but to level hormones, rid of period pains, regulate periods, acne, and prevent risks to some cancers.

Companies and spokeswomen have spoken out against this attack on women’s access to birth control one being on social media of over 16 celebrities tweeting or re-tweeting responses and defenses of this attack. TV actress Kerry Washington remarked that “So it’s not a good time to talk about gun control but birth control is fine to regulate?” #HandsOffMyBC   Many companies including Planned Parenthood and the Women’s March, have spoken out against this attack by vocalizing their opinions on social media and encouraging men and women to speak out against this attack.

For many women, this is not just and attack on their birth control but a medical right that is being denied to them. These women’s lives and bodies are being dealt with men making the decisions. Not one women allowed access to these decisions involving health care. People often question why there are so many mistakes in getting it right in relations to the new bills and acts involving women’s health care. What the government ignores is that women are not the ones making these decisions men are. At the end of the day, women are still not free, especially when a man still has this much power to deny us control over our own bodies.

“It’s cruel and inhumane to deny me and every other women in the United States to basic access to medicine and control over our own bodies, it’s 2017 and women are still having to fight for not just healthcare, it’s equal pay, equal opportunity, in and outside of the workforce. Our bosses nor should a room full of men be the ones to make these decisions for us, maybe if women were given the equal opportunity they deserve they’re wouldn’t be so many inequitable bills being passed that women are having to protests every month.” Senior, Alexis Matias, A young female student at ERHS, stated. This is what will have to be fought for.