Big victory for American women today as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) goes into effect.
Many of you might be wondering what exactly I am talking about, what the big deal is, or how this effects you. Starting today, millions of women across the United States will be able to access a wide range of reproductive health services. This includes no-copay contraception!
Let me explain to you whether you live in America or not why this policy is a huge victory for all women.
Feminists have always stated that women cannot truly be empowered until we are in control of our reproduction, yet even today experts estimate that roughly 215 million women still do not have access to birth control.
In America, insurance companies play a huge role in creating barriers between women and family planning services, many that go beyond birth control to include cervical Cancer screenings, gestational diabetes tests etc. As the Center for Reproductive Rights states:
Now in the U.S., a woman who may have had to choose between paying for groceries or her monthly birth control won’t be forced to make such a choice. The Affordable Care Act—which was signed into law over two years ago and recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court—vastly expands women’s access to copay-free preventive health care.
Thank you, President Obama for standing up for women’s rights. Being a woman is not a preexisting condition!
What a great post Anushay! I always love when someone acknowledges any advancement in women’s rights. Here in Britain we take for granted that from an early age we have free access to contraception via the NHS (National Health Service). Many of us Brits complain about the our health service, but as you have quite rightly pointed out here, no woman should face any kind of barrier to receiving basic reproductive health care, least of all a financial a barrier; and British women are lucky to have had access to this for many decades now.
A victory indeed for American women!