Posts Tagged: birth control
3 Things I Learned About My Vagina from Anti-Choice Politicians
The vagina, no matter whose body it’s attached to, is an impressive piece of technology. It’s sleek. Durable. Self-cleaning. Organic. It’s nature’s own pocket! But there is also so much more, so much that we don’t know. I mean vaginas are the real final frontier. They’re illusive and tricky little creatures. I mean, some fedora-wearing nice guys have never even seen one before. Crazy, right?
How Ohio State’s “Condom Club” is Promoting Inclusive, Safe Sex — One Prophylactic at a Time
One of the first things I did when I set foot on to the Ohio State University campus was sign up for “Condom Club” membership. “Condom Club” briefly known as “Safer Sex Society” is the place on campus to get almost all things a person might need to have safe sex. Oh and they also provide free sex-ed workshops to students. Ohio State is home to about 60,000 students. The presence of “Condom Club” on campus is very important. For me, the Club has been instrumental in my sexual education and practice. (Fun fact: the very first lube I ever used was from the “Condom Club”). The Club is about more than providing students with prophylactics. For some like myself, attending one of “Condom Club’s” safe sex workshops was their… Read more »
Mike Huckabee, Controlling Libidos and Natural Family Planning
Recently, obvious mind reader of women/Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said some troublesome things about contraception coverage. He said that the recent improvements with reproductive health “insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar [??] coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it.” The whole “controlling libido” comment reminds me so much of how anti-choice folks push natural family planning, or NFP, as the all-encompassing solution to avoiding hormonal birth control. NFP is a method in which a person uses signs of their body, such as cervical mucus and timing of menstrual periods in order to time… Read more »
Overweight Women Stuck with the Hope and Pray Contraceptive
It was just earlier this year that the emergency contraceptive Plan-B One Step became available for sale without a prescription. Commonly referred to as ‘The Morning After Pill’, Plan-B serves as a very important tool in empowering young people in their own sexual discourse. And as someone who has used Plan-B myself, it allows the user to feel comfortable and assured in themselves. Imagine my surprise, however, when two weeks ago I read that Norlevo, the European equivalent of Plan-B, has been found ineffective in women over 176 lbs. To say that I was upset is an understatement. The American Plan-B pill is chemically identical to Norvelo meaning that the pill I, myself, have used may not have been effective. I may have just gotten extremely lucky. Which isn’t something you… Read more »
“That will be $800” – My IUD Journey
“It will run you around $800.” This statement was casually spoken to me by a secretary at the OBGYN office I had visited a week prior. I was expecting the office to call to schedule another appointment for an insertion of a Mirena IUD, what I have the determined to be The Contraceptive for Me. I was absolutely devastated to learn that an IUD was not actually covered by my insurance.
The Birds and the Bees – and Plan B
By Callie Otto, Choice USA intern My 16 year-old brother got his first real girlfriend a few months ago. As the sex-obsessed one in the family, I’ve decided it’s my job to make sure he knows everything he needs to know about sex. Truthfully, I’d prefer it if my brother waited until he was 30. I don’t want to acknowledge my little brother as a sexual person, but on average, teens have sex for the first time by age 17. So chances are, now’s the time he’ll be needing my lectures the most. Yes, it’s going to be uncomfortable. And I talk about sex all the time, so I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable it would be for a normal person. We live in a society that tells young people that sex… Read more »
On Privacy and Reproductive Health: California’s Confidential Health Information Act
Elizabeth McElvein is a member of the Choice USA chapter at Scripps College The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires health plans and insurers to offer coverage to dependent children up to age 26. While the expansion of health care coverage is a momentous step forward, the ACA leaves matters of patient privacy relatively ambiguous; consequently, it is up to state lawmakers to mediate the conflict between maintaining appropriate health plan and insurer communication and protecting patient confidentiality. This tension is of concrete significance to women and young people for whom patient confidentiality translates into freedom to pursue sexual and reproductive health care services. Imagine a high school senior sitting by herself in a doctor’s waiting room. She contemplates telling her doctor that she is sexually active and dreads the… Read more »
Looking in the Fun-house Mirror: Decoding Anti-Choice Spin
This post is written by Kate Londen, Choice USA Communications Manager Do you ever look at anti-choice news websites? I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you want to spend a good hour or so hate-clicking on sensationally titled articles out of a masochistic fascination. Reading their take on things is like looking in a fun-house mirror. Abortion causes breast cancer. Planned Parenthood is an abortion mill. Contraception ruins sex. You thought Beyoncé’s super bowl performance was awesome, right? Nope, it turned our children into guinea pigs for “an unfettered, out of control social experiment.” Up is down, down is up. But sometimes news comes down that is unequivocally pro-choice. What do anti-choice news site do then? Spin, baby, spin… and sometimes straight up lie. For example, earlier this month two separate reports were… Read more »
Even at the Catholic University of America, We Need Birth Control
By Callie Otto, Catholic University Students for Choice co-founder & Choice USA intern As a reproductive justice advocate at one of the most conservative colleges in the country (that is The Catholic University of America) the last few years have been nothing short of challenging. Figuring out how to get around the no condoms policy, being slut-shamed by a doctor at my campus health center, getting my favorite professor in deep shit for allowing me to talk about my pro-choice views in class, volunteering as a clinic escort at the same clinic my some of my peers sit and pray outside of — yes, I’d say it has been a challenge. These challenges have made me bitter. Bitter about the fact that I’m consistently denied my right to do or… Read more »
Emergency Contraception Should Be Accessible to All!
Another day, another trip to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions; when I enter there is a flurry of movement and excitement. Here birth control and emergency contraception or EC are just prescriptions easily obtained if necessary. But for young women all over the country, emergency contraception is a necessary medication, and many women don’t currently have access to it. The history of hormonal pills dates back as early as the 1920’s when using estrogen hormones was experimented on animals to control their procreation. This medicine wasn’t applied to humans until the 1960’s. These initial studies led to the creation of what we now know as birth control pills, and these are available in so many varieties there is virtually something for everyone. Morning after pills were being tested as… Read more »
