In Ta-Nehisi Coates’s memoir, he states, “What we must never do is willingly hand over our own bodies or the bodies of our friends.”

The cries of women for their human right to govern their body has intensified throughout America, due to this presidential election, as they refuse to hand themselves over to the next President-elect, Donald Trump.

Trump has made precarious claims that he will rid America of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), originally implemented by President Obama.

The ACA helped many women financially, as Planned Parenthood illustrates: “With the ACA’s birth control benefit, more than 55 million women now have birth control without a co-pay, saving women an estimated $1.4 billion on the pill in the ACA’s first year alone.” Note that the act has been in place since 2010.

Therefore, the absence of the ACA means that birth control will once again require a potentially pricey co-pay.

In response, according to NPR, women are “…concerned that the Trump administration might end Obamacare provisions that require insurers to cover intrauterine devices and other contraception…”

Moreover it is not only through abolishing the ACA that Trump can make it more difficult to attain birth control. Trump’s intention of having birth control no longer be co-pay free will cause it to be more difficult, even impossible, for women to get birth control due to financial situation.

As a result, there has been an influx in women seeking to get IUDs while insurance still covers the co-pay. An IUD (intrauterine device) is defined by Medlineplus as, “a small plastic T-shaped device used for birth control… inserted into the uterus.”

Consequently, fearful women pursuing IUDs are not taking the time to consider whether it is the type of birth control that would work best for them or to take in consideration the potential side effects.

For instance, side effects of an IUD include infection (risk increased with younger age), perforation of the uterine wall, expulsion of the IUD, and excessive pain and bleeding.

Therefore the rush to get IUDs caused by Trump’s threats of limiting the access of birth control may lead to ill-informed decisions and the possibility of future serious health risks.

Moreover, preventing pregnancy is a crucial role of birth control to many women; according to a 2013 National Health Statistics Report stated by CNN, “Virtually all sexually active women of reproductive age —  about 99% — have used at least one contraceptive method in their lifetimes from 2006 to 2010.” It is also important to note that the prevention of pregnancy through birth control usage is just as important to sexually active men who engage in consensual relations with women.

That being said, not all women use birth control to prevent pregnancy.

The Center for Young Women’s Health listed numerous other reasons why women use birth control, stating, “Adolescent girls and young women are often prescribed birth control pills for irregular or absent menstrual periods, menstrual cramps, acne, PMS, endometriosis, Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) and for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).”

To make matters worse, Trump eliminating the ACA will not only affect the co-pay of birth control but the also equality of women when it comes to medical insurance.

Planned Parenthood explicitly refers to the ACA as “… a game changer for women.” The article goes further to explain what the situation for women looked like before the ACA:

• “Millions of women were denied coverage because of so-called ‘pre-existing conditions’ like breast cancer or pregnancy;
• Some women were forced to pay more for insurance just because they were women; and
• Many women had to pay out-of-pocket for basic preventive health care, like cancer screenings, Pap tests and birth control— costing them hundreds of dollars a year or more…”

The removal of the ACA will allow women to be subjected to inequality and injustice regarding medical insurance, procedures and prescriptions.

Women’s health (whether because of discrimination and/or financial situation) will be put in jeopardy if Trump does not replace the ACA with a pro-woman’s right act.

Thus, it is essential that we all stand up for the basic human rights of health and security.

Trump’s promise to eliminate an act that protects women from discrimination, as well as provides co-pay free birth controls (which are often essential to a female’s health), is an utmost injustice towards women.

Trump is positioning himself against women’s health and, frankly, that will not do in today’s America.

The post Souza: Trump against human rights: Limiting access to birth control appeared first on Emerald Media.