Share Your Story: What does birth control without co-pays mean for you?

Thanks to Medicaid, I was able to get my tubes tied five years ago after my youngest daughter was born, so my childbearing years are for all intents and purposes over.  However, being a member of the working class means that I've had my share of struggles being able to access effective, reliable birth control over the years.  There were times when I had to pay for my birth control pills out of pocket because insurance wouldn't cover it or the provider insisted that I show a "valid medical reason" for needing the Pill-apparently, pregnancy prevention wasn't a legitimate reason for them!  I used it to control severe menstrual symptoms (as in severe bleeding, killer cramps, and monster PMS mood swings on top of an irregular cycle), but felt strongly that what a woman needs the Pill for is nobody's business but her own and I told the insurance company as much!  After our first daughter was born, we had to switch to condoms and spermicide because we didn't have health insurance through my husband's job, we couldn't afford private coverage due to the prohibitive cost, we didn't qualify for Medicaid (my husband "made too much money" in spite of the fact that we could barely afford rent, utilities, gas, and food already!), and OTC methods like condoms were cheaper and didn't require the additional expense of a doctor's visit.  That's how we got our second daughter-apparently one of the condoms failed despite VERY careful use! Birth control without co-pays may have come along slightly too late for us, but since we have two daughters who will benefit from this when they hit childbearing age, I have DOUBLE the reasons to be grateful that this provision is in place!  They won't have to fight the insurers tooth and nail to get their contraceptive medication for whatever reasons they need it, and they'll have more control over when and how many children they have.  And if they opt to remain childfree like my sister and brother-in-law did (and had to jump through a ridiculous amount of hoops to ensure that things stayed that way thanks to society's outmoded attitude that not having kids is a BAD thing!), they will have an easier time ensuring that as well!  My daughters won't have to choose between paying rent and paying for birth control.  They won't have to argue with insurance providers over WHY they need birth control.  They will be free to determine the path of their own lives without being shackled to their cycles.  This is TRUE freedom for women!

It means that young women will have opportunities that I did not, when I was of child-bearing age. Neither my husband and I wanted children, for good reason. Neither of us felt we could give a child the love and guidance that every child needs. I know too many couples who had children because they did not practice family planning, and were pressured (as were we) to produce grandchildren, nieces or nephews or just babies to coo over for a few minutes without responsibility. I saw them become depressed and unhappy, trying to fulfil the dreams of others, by giving up their own. Divorces, arguments, and ultimately children who suffered.When I became pregnant, after trying very hard to be careful (the pill was just coming on the market), we had to go to Mexico to have the abortion - a terrifying experience for both of us, which put my health into hands that I could only hope were the right ones. It turned out very well, the procedure and the care I received were excellent and I experienced no side-effects. But no woman should have to do this. We deserve both the right to make our own decisions, take appropriate steps to prevent or abort a pregnancy, and respect for our choices. Some years later, after I had begun using the pill, my husband had a vasectomy. We never had any regrets - quite the opposite. My husband had developed severe heart disease and Hepatitis C from blood transfusions. Several times, he was near death and we were so grateful that he would not leave me with small children to raise alone without sufficient funds to provide for a good education and a proper environment with a parent able to spend the time to love and nourish them.I am insulted that anyone could regard my choice as selfish, or morally deficient. My heart aches for all children who lack the attention, love and guidance of happy, truly caring parents. They are not stupid, nor unobservant. They are the ones who suffer from divorce and reluctant mothers or fathers. Having children is an enormous commitment which too many are not prepared for. Today, we still do not even have proper sex education and do not provide support for either children or parents that they need when they have children without understanding the commitment required. Free access to birth control is essential. 

I currently do not pay for my birth control, as I am on Medicaid.  However, when I am able to afford my own insurance, it will be quite a relief that I will not have the extra burden of paying a copay for it.  I use birth control as a means of regulating my periods.  I have cysts in both ovaries, and they cause my periods to be highly irregular and extremely heavy.  Being on birth control means I can get on with my life without having to have one week per month that is on hold.

I am now post menopausal, but this issue brings back the memories of coming of age in New York State.  It was illegal to get birth control unless you were married, regardless of your age.  The exception was for control of menstrual problems.  I was terrified of becoming pregnant, so I did scrimp on things to make sure I had my pills. I have fought this fight once, and I thought I had it won.  Now a group of people with no common sense or humanity want to make sure that women are back in the tenth century, when we were in the same class with the family cow.  Perhaps it is a comfort to them to be so very sure that they are right and have all the answers for everyone else that theycan insist on dictating the most intimate decisions a women can make.  May their chickens come home to roost on them.