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Contraceptive controversy
Why Obama’s birth control proposal is positive

By Natalie Serafini, Contributor

s a feminist, I field many
Aas questions: “Do you
shave your legs?”; “Are you a

lesbian?”; “Why are you a feminist, isn’t
it over?”

I ignore some questions, but the
American birth control controversy is
a prime example of why feminism is
relevant. The Obama administration
has proposed making birth control
accessible to all women by having
it covered by healthcare companies.
So if you’re an employer providing
healthcare, contraception must be a part
of that care at no extra cost to women.
There’s also an exemption though for
religious organizations, in order to avoid
infringing upon their religious rights.
Despite the popularity of this proposal—
as demonstrated by polls—there has been
a huge backlash, with people saying it’s
ridiculous.

Well, it isn’t ridiculous, and I’m going
to tell you why.

Contraception is incredibly important
for women who want to choose if and
when they have children. Speaking for

I’ve also heard that feminists are
“hypocritical” for wanting birth control
and wanting the government to stay
out of women’s uteruses. From my
perspective, birth control lets women
choose if and when they have children.
The requests that government stay out of
their uteruses—and not dictate decisions
related to women’s bodies—also let
women make their own choices. I don’t
see any hypocrisy in these appeals for
autonomy. Maybe I’m just a Femi-Nazi,
but I think equality is about equal power,
opportunity, and independence.

And then there’s Rush Limbaugh,
who made headlines for saying “[ilf
we're gonna pay for your contraceptives,
and thus pay for you to have sex... we
want you to post the videos online so we
can all watch.” Limbaugh has also made
headlines for being stopped returning
from the Dominican Republic with a
bottle of Viagra. I would say, “Hey Rush,
since tax payers are paying for your
Viagra, and thus paying for you to have
sex, how about you post the videos online
so we can all watch,” but I don’t want
to sink to his level—also, I’m afraid he
would take me up on the suggestion.

“Did you know that some healthcare companies cover the costs of Erectile Dysfunction
medication? As far as | know, the consequences of limited access to Viagra aren’t as
long-term or potentially devastating as limited birth control. ED’s kind of a small
matter compared to PCOS.”

myself, I’m 18 years old and I don’t want
kids for at least another decade. I imagine
other women—even if they want kids
sooner—probably want to make that
decision for themselves. And let’s be
honest, the choices available to pregnant
women are pretty limited: keep the
baby, give the baby up, or abort. Women
who have access to birth control are less
likely to find themselves in the position
of having to make such a difficult and
painful decision. They’Il be able to put off
having kids until they’re ready.
Contraceptives can also be necessary
for health. Sandra Fluke, a law student
from Georgetown, has been active in
this controversy, talking about a friend
who “needed contraception to prevent
cysts from growing on her ovaries. She
has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and
she wasn’t able to get [contraceptives]
because of problems with the insurance
and she actually lost an ovary.” If health
issues can be resolved simply through
access to birth control, it’s clear that
contraceptives should be available
to women. Did you know that some
healthcare companies cover the costs of
Erectile Dysfunction medication? As far
as I know, the consequences of limited
access to Viagra aren’t as long-term or
potentially devastating as limited birth
control. ED’s kind of a small matter
compared to PCOS.

You might think that contraceptives
aren't that expensive, but according to
Sandra Fluke, contraceptives could cost
as much as $3,000 over the course of
university enrolment without coverage.
Foster Friess’ suggestion that women
use Bayer aspirin—apparently back in
his day, “the gals put it between their
knees’”—while inexpensive, isn’t exactly a
viable option.

You might think taxpayers shouldn’t
pay for contraceptives, but as June
Carbone from the Huffington Post writes
“lslince the Obama administration
decision was based on a calculation that
this would result in lower healthcare
costs overall, it would not raise the
premiums paid to insurance companies
... Itis infinitely less expensive to fund
contraceptive services than to pay for
pregnancy and childbirth—or avoidable
hysterectomies.” There you go! The birth
control reform actually saves money!

I don’t really mind the questions
as to whether I’m a man-hatin’, hairy-
legged Femi-Nazi—honestly, it just
makes me laugh. What I’m not fond of
is the idea that feminism is no longer
relevant, especially with regards to this
controversy. Birth control is a means of
adding control to women’s lives. Even if
youre against contraceptives, hopefully
you recognize how important this
healthcare proposal is.

 

 

Opinions

Suck it, spring

Musings on why this season is the worst

 

By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

cloudiness of winter into the unfortunate season of

spring. But while everyone else seems to be embracing
the T-shirt weather, I’m forced to endure a great deal of
displeasure. Spring is an invention of the pharmaceutical
and tissue companies. The two are likely even in cahoots
with each other. When springtime came upon us, I needed no
one to tell me, because I simply sneezed. And sneezed. And
sneezed. And sneezed. Each time, I proceeded to deplete our
substantial supply of Kleenex. While still in the process of
clearing my nasal cavities as best I could, I noticed that there
was a steadily growing mountain of snot papers on my floor.
With a sigh, I navigated a safe path, grabbed a garbage bag,
and safely deposited the aforementioned unmentionables
in it. Clearly it is not out of the question to hypothesize that
those in the business of manufacturing garbage bags and
other such products are also in on the dirty scheme.

Soon after, I raced for the beloved pill cabinet.
Rummaging through the various drugs, the question of
why we have so many did occur to me, but this thought
was quickly dismissed in favour of relieving my immediate
discomfort as soon as possible. Finding the chlor-tripolon, I
hastily downed a tablet, before returning to my diminished
tissue resources. Sometime later, I began to feel normal again.
Thank god for drugs.

Allergies are my main issue with spring, but my ever-
positive nature found a few more that bug me. Spring
weather is a constant source of annoyance. Let’s take a
random hypothetical day: it’s windy, so therefore it would
seem logical to wear a coat. Spring however, is unaware
of the word “logical.” It’s too hot for a jacket, yet too cold
without one. While some may blame it on my family’s inherit
ability to sweat like pigs, I choose to take the far easier path
and blame it on the season that can do nothing in response.
Spring, you have ruined my formerly solid choices in outside
attire.

To wrap up my increasingly weak argument against
spring, I’m going to end with my concerns about sitting
spaces, specifically grass. Don’t you just love it when there’s a
lush green field in front of you with the breeze gently rippling
through the swathes of verdant verdure? You just want to
throw yourself down and roll about, or settle in and read a
book while munching on a delightfully crisp apple. But if you
were to actually attempt such a frivolous action, your clothes
would undoubtedly become soaked beyond belief. Spring
makes the ground reach a degree of uncomfortable moistness.
While you’re not sopping wet, you’re not dry either. You’re
in the purgatory of dampness, with heaven a long way off. So
there you have it. Spring is clearly not my cup of tea and with
any luck, I have ruined the season for you too. Cheers!

GS: the yearly cycle has finally fallen from the blissful

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