Trump Takes Away Fundamental Health Care for Women
The average American woman spends just three years pregnant or trying to become pregnant, and a full 30 years trying not to be pregnant. So it’s no surprise that birth control is a standard part of most women’s lives. In fact, roughly nine out of 10 women will use birth control during their lifetime.

A few years ago, I had a patient who was a nurse practitioner at a Catholic hospital in Baltimore. She needed an IUD, but her insurance didn’t cover it because her employer objected to contraception. That meant she would have to pay almost $1,000 for the device herself, and with her modest income, that was impossible for her.

Fortunately, Planned Parenthood was able to help her get the basic health care she needed. I remember how grateful she was, and I think of her every time I read about employers refusing to cover birth control. Under the Affordable Care Act provision, she would have still been able to get birth control through her insurer, even though her employer had opted out. Today, she would again be left with no other options.

I also think of the college students who are working hard to build their futures, where the cost of birth control can put textbooks or groceries out of reach. Or moms who are forced to decide between school clothes for their kids or birth control.

And those hardest hit by this policy will be poor women and women of color. According to a survey, 51 percent of African-American women ages 18 to 34 said they have had trouble purchasing birth control, and cost can be one of the most significant barriers for women of color in getting health care. In addition, these women too often suffer higher rates of chronic conditions because of systemic barriers to care. Not all of these diseases are pregnancy-related, but many can be managed by contraception.