The Student News Site of Sonoma State University

Sonoma State Star

The Student News Site of Sonoma State University

Sonoma State Star

The Student News Site of Sonoma State University

Sonoma State Star

Birth control under attack by president

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Columnist Katie Haga 

Columnist Katie Haga 

“No uterus, no opinion,” said a frustrated Rachel Green in an episode of “Friends” as she expressed her annoyance toward Ross about his opinion on Braxton Hicks contractions. 

The 90s sitcom is becoming more and more popular among millennials, I myself having watched the whole series about five times. Obviously being one of my favorite shows for many reasons; the relatable characters, the comical banter but this quote is more relatable to today’s society than anybody realizes. Think about it, who shares their unwanted opinion on women’s bodies that truly has no right to? The Trump Administration.

We’ve known, since the day he took office, Trump cares very little – if any – for women’s rights. From degrading women with his infamous statement, “grab her by the p****,” to discussing overturning Roe V. Wade and now this: talks of denying birth control to hundreds of women. 

What next? Revoking the 19th Amendment? It appears as if the reasoning behind this outrageous choice is that men seem to think that women have too much recreational sex, leading them to believe birth control should no longer be offered under health insurance. As crazy as it sounds, birth control isn’t used just for sex. There is a plethora of reasons that women get birth control. In fact, 31 percent of women use birth control to ease menstrual pain, 28 percent use it to regulate the flow of their periods and 14 percent use the pill to control chronic acne, according to Guttmacher Institute. Studies conducted by Juan Madera of the University of Houston, show that women with acne have a much higher chance of not getting a job because of it. So in reality, birth control actually helps some women to land a job.

Other health issues that birth control helps to manage are endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and can even lower risks to some cancers. According to gynecologic cancer surgeon, Ginger Gardner, “Women that have taken the pill for five years or longer have a 50 percent reduction in the risk of developing ovarian cancer.” Ovarian cancer is a serious risk among women, according to the American Cancer Society. Ovarian cancer accounts for more deaths than any other cancer in the female’s reproductive system. Who wouldn’t want to prevent ovarian cancer? Apparently our elected officials.

Our elected officials are the ones in charge of deciding the fate of women’s birth control and ironically 71 percent of them are male. But I guess it makes sense now as to why Viagra, a pill made for men – specifically for sex, is still being covered by insurance. The elected officials argue that the alternative to the pill is to just stop having sex, and yet they never tell men that. With Viagra commercials, they are practically encouraging it.

As for the other percentage of women using the pill, yes, it is for having sex. However, these women should be applauded for being cautious and practicing safe sex. Especially because contraceptive action has been proven to reduce abortion rates. 

After all, the pill was made for preventing unwanted pregnancy, it’s right there in the name. It just so happens to come with several other perks that helps benefit women.

So, Mr. Trump, with all of the angry and hateful words I wish I could share with you, I’m just going to leave you with this – no uterus, no opinion.

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