For weeks now, we at Feminist Majority Foundation have been preparing for the rally supporting the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit that was held today outside the Supreme Court – so imagine my excitement when the day had finally come!
As an intern, I was tasked with spreading the word about the rally, which I did by discussing it with my women’s studies classes at American University and stopping by the offices of Senators that support birth control coverage in the Affordable Care Act. The importance of these two cases is that it truly is #MyBodyMyBC – Americans should be able to make decisions about birth control without interference from bosses.
Birth control is basic health care for women. Nearly all American women who have ever had sexual intercourse have used birth control, and as many as 88% have used birth control pills, injectables, the contraceptive patch, or IUDs at some point in their lives. Birth control is also essential for the near 15% of women who use the pill to treat painful conditions such as endometriosis, ovarian cysts, or severe cramps, and studies have shown that the pill reduces the incidence of ovarian and endometrial cancers. I could not imagine my boss being able to deny me a benefit I am entitled to under the law just because they don’t like it – contraception included.
I was really excited for the rally, until I found out that the forecast called for one to three inches of snow! I am from New Jersey, so this weather is nothing that scares me too much, but I had never attended a rally in the snow before. Sweltering heat, yes. Snowstorm, no. What I feared about the snow was that it would not provide for a large crowd, but – boy was I wrong.
When we arrived at the SCOTUS, I was amazed to find so many folks from different backgrounds coming together for this issue. With my FMF sign in hand, I proudly stood with women and men from our coalition organizations such as National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, Advocates for Youth, Reproductive Health Technologies Project, and many others.
When it comes to birth control and a woman’s right to choose, let it be know that we let nothing stand in our way!
