Recent controversy over the Affordable Care Act’s contraception
mandate has served as a reminder of how shaky our rights to
contraception can be. Although 99 percent of women have used
contraception at some point in their lives, access to
contraception is still subject to challenges. Section 2713 of
the Affordable Care Act mandated that employers’ health plans
include coverage for contraceptives without co-pays or
deductibles. Critics attacked the law as unfair to religious
institutions that oppose the use of contraceptives. Responding
to pressure, the Obama White House offered a compromise that
shifted the responsibility for coverage from any religious
institution opposed to the mandate to the employees’ health
insurance. The right of unmarried Americans to obtain
contraceptives was only established 40 years ago. Our rights to
contraception are not only shaky at times, but also not long
established. When people think of celebrities like Marlon
Wayans, Cameron Diaz, or Maya Rudolph, old age is probably not
wh