The only time in my life that I went on birth control was when my spouse and I were trying to have a baby. That’s why I’m celebrating Thanks, Birth Control Day today—because birth control matters to so many people in so many ways. Read on for my story.
My spouse and I wanted to create our family through reciprocal in vitro fertilization (RIVF), with her carrying my eggs. To do so, we needed to synch our menstrual cycles so that my egg was retrieved when her uterus was ready with a nice thick lining. Enter the birth control pill, which allows a clockwork prediction of one’s monthly cycle.
As a lesbian who had only seriously dated cisgender women, I’d never been on birth control before. There I was, though, popping a pill every day in order to start our queer little family. Getting access to the pills was thankfully never an issue; they were the most ordinary of the many medications we had to take as part of the process (and easier than the injections—see this post for more details of our RIVF adventure).
Birth control, however, is getting harder to access, especially for those of fewer economic means. The Women’s Media Center reports that since Roe v. Wade was overturned:
Missouri has already banned public funding for two common contraceptives: intrauterine devices (UIDs) and emergency contraceptive Plan B pills. Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas have prohibited Planned Parenthood from receiving public funding through their Medicaid programs. Six states, including Arkansas, Georgia, and Mississippi, explicitly permit pharmacists the right to refuse to refill birth control prescriptions on moral or religious grounds with no legal, financial, or professional consequences, and many other states allow for conditional refusal of health care services relating to contraception and pregnancy.
Additionally, a recent survey commissioned by Power to Decide, the nonprofit behind Thanks, Birth Control Day, found that nearly six in 10 young adults think it will be harder to access birth control in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The findings also suggest that many use social media for information about birth control, but may be receiving incorrect information, such as thinking that emergency contraception can end an early-stage pregnancy.
Power to Decide reminds us, too, that birth control pills may be used in many different ways:
- To ease period flow & cramps
- To prevent pregnancy & STIs
- To have stress-free sex
- To control acne
- To treat a medical condition
Whatever type of birth control you need, and whatever you need it for—to prevent pregnancy, start a family through (R)IVF, or for other reasons—it is vital health care that everyone deserves to access. Thanks to Power to Decide for helping raise awareness about this, today and every day.