Listen, as much as I’d like to go on and on about other “feminine” products and how pricey they are, this is specifically about birth control. The rest of it is a different argument for a different article.
Medicine, in and of itself, is a hassle. There’s no denying it, but there’s something about medicine for reproductive health that makes it so much worse. I mean, sure, there isn’t much of a problem with someone going to their doctor and seeing if they’re “healthy enough for sex” to take Viagra, but there can be a problem when a young person (usually under eighteen) goes into a clinic to get birth control.
My gynecologist was super chill about the whole thing, and I didn’t even have to get a pap smear to do so, but that isn’t always the case. See, sometimes we can get harassed by our doctors about getting birth control. They may ask us how sexually active we are, and if we have told our parents that we are currently sexually active. Yes, our parents. I’m sure the cashier doesn’t ask people that when they go buy condoms, right?
Your insurance might cover it if you are lucky. If not, you could end up having to pay majority out of pocket for something that may or may not be keeping you alive. That’s almost $50 a month. And let’s hope that we also don’t need a separate hormone medication with it.
That’s right, I said “keeping you alive.”
Most women who go get birth control do so for various health reasons. Not just to not get pregnant. Real shocker, isn’t it?
See, for women like me with Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), birth control is a necessity. Otherwise, I could lose what’s left of my fertility and then never be able to have kids! (That’s right, I might want kids someday.) I would also be in extreme pain and would be extremely weak due to anemia.
There is truly nothing quite like almost passing out because your period has lasted twelve days. Nothing.
Of course, I could just go without it and feel like garbage all the time, but I’m not sure anyone would like to deal with me then.
My case is just one of many that requires birth control for a normal life. My birth control is medically necessary, and I still get flack for it.
The dirtiest looks you never thought you’d see.
“Aren’t you worried about your children later?”
“Why are you on birth control if you aren’t having sex?”
These are questions I never want to answer from a stranger. Questions I never want to answer. Questions I shouldn’t even be asked.
I shouldn’t be asked personal questions about my life because I take a hormonal medication. No one should, regardless of someone being sexually active or not. It’s not kind, nor is it anyone else’s business.