I thought this was a hoax when I first heard the news, but it is true: birth control is now fully covered by insurance.
As of August 1 (yesterday!): No. More. Copays.
Gratis! (Credit: Planned Parenthood Inc., click for source file)
As someone who has spent as much as $50 per month for contraceptive pills (and that’s with insurance coverage), this is a major victory for me and women everywhere. Aside from relieving our wallets, it has been proven that easy access to contraception has a direct effect on reducing a nation’s abortion rates.
Contraception isn’t the only thing covered under the Affordable Care Act. Also going copay-free are services such as gestational diabetes screening, HPV testing and domestic violence counseling, among other services.
Granted, religious institutions may opt-out of this plan, but it is still a giant leap in the right direction.
Reproductive rights are taking quite a beating in the U.S. as of late.
As of now, several states (Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin) have made the move to close down several Planned Parenthood facilities, citing it as a proverbial “trimming the fat” so the state and federal budgets can be saved.
Meanwhile, the Ohio House has passed the “Heartbeat Bill,” which puts quite a monkey wrench in abortion access. Think Progress explains:
The bill outlaws abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as “six to seven weeks into pregnancy.” There is no exception in the bill for rape, incest, or mental health of a woman.
These and many other reports point to a very disturbing trend. Slowly but surely, Roe v. Wade is being negated in favor of ultra-Conservative ideologies that have dire effects on a woman’s right to choose.
I find that “pro-choice” and “pro-abortion” are used interchangeably, but that is not the case. Being “pro-choice” truly means that women should have the choice to keep or abort a fetus. That means that women who are pregnant due to rape or incest have the choice to abort because they cannot handle the mental trauma-or they may choose to give birth and put the child up for adoption, or even (bless their hearts) keep the child and raise it as their own.
That is the true meaning of choice.
When these choices start getting taken away, we as women are put at risk for even more of our choices being taken away for shoddy reasons-our right to vote, to equal pay, to education, and onward the list goes.
We cannot let the powers that be (which are still made up of mostly men) slowly take away our right to choose to save a few dollars. Call your members of Congress and let them know that the right to choose must stay intact, no matter the cost.
Cherchez La Feminista 