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Why Access to Birth Control Is No Substitute for Abortion Rights
Sep 17, 2021 1 min, 18 secs
But, having studied the history of birth control in the U.S., I also grew worried about what was likely to come next: calls for people who can get pregnant to find a long-term form of birth control.

Indeed, when Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court, one commentator suggested that focusing on access to long-acting reversible contraceptives for women could be a solution to impending abortion restrictions.

It may seem reasonable to position long-term prescription birth control for birthing bodies as a solution to impending abortion restrictions.

While almost half of sexually active American women ages 15-44 who were not seeking pregnancy reported using a reversible prescription method in 2016 (and another 22.4% were sterilized), the reality is that those contraceptives aren’t perfect.

Just as importantly, encouraging prescription birth control use as the solution to the loss of abortion rights is a continued reflection of the feminization of contraceptive responsibility.

If there’s anything that I’ve learned from my research on the burdens of preventing pregnancy, it’s that women need both birth control and abortion.

There’s no way to fulfill the promise of the pill without wholeheartedly rejecting suggestions that people who can get pregnant must use prescription birth control to remedy a system that failed them.

Rather than uncritically calling for menstruating people to use contraception, those of us worried about giving Americans control over pregnancy should focus on activities that bear directly on improving access to abortion.

Peddling prescription birth control without considering people’s needs does not.

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