Dear Big Government: Birth Control Doesn’t Define Our Worth

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a landmark ruling that put a muzzle on the contraception mandate contained in Obamacare. This is a small but important victory for religious liberty and limited government.

Per usual, abortionistas decried this ruling as the end of women’s rights. (Cue the melodrama! The death of womankind is upon us!) They decried, “Get my employer out of my bedroom!” while simultaneously begging our government to fund their sexual escapades. One gal–Guardian U.S.’s Jessica Valenti–even suggested that women “should organize a safe-sex f***-in at every Hobby Lobby across the country.” (Gross.)

If this is what passes for female empowerment today, our gender has truly been set back.

In Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court ruled that Hobby Lobby and similar private entities don’t have to provide contraception coverage if it goes against an owner’s beliefs. SCOTUS blog’s Amy Howe has more on the case:


But even if that’s the case, the Court continued, the mandate still can’t survive because it is not the narrowest way of promoting the government’s interest.:  If the government really cares about providing women with free birth control, the Court explained, it could do so itself, at a cost that would probably pale in comparison with what the Affordable Care Act will ultimately cost the government.:  But, the Court pointed out, further evidence that there is an easier and less burdensome (for the companies) way to do this can been seen in the exemption that the government has created for religious non-profits that object to providing birth control.:  Those religious non-profits can opt out of providing the coverage without paying for it, but their female employees can still receive the coverage, with either the insurers or the government paying for it.

Interestingly enough, Hobby Lobby already covers 16 different forms of contraception. They were within their right as a private company to not cover four options largely seen as abortifacients. It’s their money, their choice. Don’t like it? Work for a different company.

Treating birth control as a wedge issue impedes true women’s rights and progress. When did birth control become the only source of female empowerment? We should be elevating ourselves without government interference. How does having a copious supply of government-sanctioned birth control elevate our gender? It forces our gender to be subservient rather than independent. Why is birth control a life-and-death issue? There are more important issues than birth control.

Like many other young women out there, I’m personally opposed to government-subsidized birth control on moral and economic grounds. (Blasphemous, right?) Birth control isn’t candy; it’s medicine that can potentially harm you and disrupt your hormones. A January 2014 Vanity Fair article titled “Danger in the Ring” detailed the dangers involved in using NuvaRing and Yaz. The women profiled in this article suffered various complications ranging from blood clots to even death. Additionally, a Daily Beast report from November 2011 noted that oral contraceptives carry a “rare risk of heart attack, stroke, blood clots, high blood pressure, liver tumors, and gallstones.” There are plenty of alternatives available for women to prevent pregnancy, with the best being abstinence. Should the government enforce these views? No, but they should protect my First Amendment right to express them and debate them in the public square.

Feminist groupthink is caustic and harmful to our gender. It teaches women to be judged on their sexual behavior–not on their character or individual worth. This lofty crusade to safeguard nonexistent birth control “rights” for our gender is a demeaning cause. We’re more than our lady parts, girls.

Birth control is a commodity, not a right. In fact, birth control is a drug. If you’re inclined to use it, please pay for it yourself.:  Fellow females: let’s be judged on merit, not on birth control usage.

This blog post was originally published: on Counter Cultured’s “Politics” column.: 

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