On October 6, the Trump administration rolled back the Obamacare-era requirement for employers to include birth control in their healthcare plans. This decision makes it easy to deny female employees a basic health-related need based on opposition to religious or moral beliefs. While the White House is arguing that it’s an act in favor of greater spiritual freedom, it is really a reactionary suppression of women’s rights.
Because of Former President Obama’s efforts, 62 million women have access to birth control in the United States. The implementation of the contraceptive coverage mandate made it possible for women to purchase birth control without co-payments, making it significantly more affordable. Under President Trump’s new regulations, which will be implemented immediately, many of these women may be forced to pay significantly more for birth control. For example, birth control pills without health insurance can cost up to $600 a year, as opposed to being free under Obamacare stipulations. This cost makes birth control simply too expensive for a large portion of low-income women.
Birth control is known for its ability to prevent pregnancies, which is why some religious and moral beliefs are against it. But President Trump’s decision ignores the various other benefits that birth control can provide for women, including menstrual cycle regulation, menstrual cramp alleviation, and acne prevention. These three additional reasons alone make birth control a basic, essential need for women of all ages.
Furthermore, stripping women of their right to affordable birth control will only increase the abortion rate, which is generally more strongly opposed by religious and conservative groups. When you label a method of contraception as an unnecessary “luxury,” it makes avoiding unplanned pregnancies significantly more difficult. If the number of unplanned pregnancies increases, abortions are very likely to do the same. And since both President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have spoken out against abortion, why do they want birth control to be so difficult for women to access? It’s not as if this decision will help their popularity, as 68% of Americans support the contraceptive coverage mandate. In other words, this legislation will most likely cause major backlash against the administration. There simply isn’t a way to oppose contraception and abortion without being hypocritical. In this case, President Trump has decided to unsurprisingly continue his pattern of hypocrisy instead of listening to the needs of half of the American population.
Simply put, birth control should not be a luxury. It is a necessity for tens of millions of women. It doesn’t matter if these are women who do not want children, aren’t ready to have children, or are taking advantage of the other benefits that birth control provides. They all have the right to use birth control, not just the ones who can afford the annual $600 fee. Particularly for low-income women, contraception is essential because the costs associated with abortion, pregnancy, and raising a child are much steeper than the previously free birth control methods.
Rolling back the contraceptive coverage mandate is an unacceptable step backward in the fight for women’s rights. But this isn’t only an attack on women’s rights — it’s also an attack on low-income Americans. President Trump is well known for wanting to give tax breaks to the one percent, so of course he would get rid of legislation that makes birth control accessible to the low-income population. But, either way, no one should be denied the right to something as indispensable as affordable birth control. We need to continue the work that Mr. Obama began by making birth control free for all women once again.
