Letters: Women are people, too

I can’t believe that in 2017, politicians are trying to control access to birth control for women. Nine out of ten women of reproductive age rely on birth control at some point during their lives for preventing pregnancy or treating medical conditions from endometriosis to irregular, painful periods.

Birth control has been a huge part of my life that is constantly changing. Between the various political attempts at legislation that attack the availability of birth control, I have switched methods multiple times. Women around me, including myself, are scrambling to get long-term contraceptives because they fear the future of their health care. The first, second, and third method I used did not work for me, and women should not be pressured to find the birth control that works for their body on the first try. The fear that results from the Trump administration’s constant threat toward health care is depriving women the right to comfort in their own bodies.

Birth control is not controversial. In the months since Trump has taken office, we’ve seen a full-on assault on women’s health, and a disdain for the reality of women’s lives. Birth control is a choice – more accurately, it is our choice. This debate has transformed into a fight for male power more than it is concerned with religion or money or anything else. All women deserve the right to their bodies through equal access to contraceptives. Though people like Trump would like to deny female autonomy and action, this fight is bigger than him and here’s the bottom line: Women are people too.

Olivia Forker
Ithaca