Birth Control Blog Carnival

I've signed up to participate in Thursday's Birth Control Blog Carnival, sponsored by National Women's Law Center and Planned Parenthood. They've invited bloggers to participate in the discussion about birth control and its place in women's lives. This post will be shared, along with many others by bloggers all over the country.

According to Planned Parenthood:

This summer, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will issue its recommendation on women's preventive health care and whether it includes birth control. The final decision on this important aspect of health care reform will be made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). If the HHS concludes that women's preventive health care includes birth control, it will be covered by new health plans without a co-payment — a major victory for women's health! (Source) 

It is hard for me to fathom why, in 2011, this is still an issue--I'm glad, certainly, that so many people are working hard to make this happen, but it's still sad that women's health is something that has to be fought for in these so-called "enlightened" times. Men can get little blue pills (and those cheesy-as-hell ads are all over TV) and giving women access to birth control is still this Big Issue. It makes me want to scream.

I have used the Pill off and on since the age of 18--mostly as a way to control hormone fluctuations, acne, and (forgive the overshare) extra-long, extra-heavy menstrual periods. In this last year on unemployment, I've missed being on the Pill, and one of these days I may actually drag my lazy self over to Planned Parenthood to get back on it. I'm thankful I still have Planned Parenthood in California--the organization is facing all kinds of challenges across the U.S. right now (you can read a post I wrote about that in March, here).

Anyway, now that I've got the ranty stuff out of the way, the bottom line (and my point) is that allowing all women access to affordable family planning and health screening should be a top priority--and, of course, we should continue educating people about health and wellness in all areas of life, without denying reproductive health.