I am a child of the 60's, a baby boomer who has recently retired from school counseling in public schools. I've been married for 42 years. I am the mother of three sons. I also have four step-children. Recently, I have been upset (to put it mildly) by what I've seen happening politically and socially regarding women's access to healthcare. Our President made sure that women had access to birth control by mandating insurance pay for that coverage. Then the Bishops had a fit. A compromise solution was found. End of story. NOT! The right-wingers won't let it go.
I think everyone should realize and accept that just like rape, this issue is not really about sex, it is about power. The right-wing wants power over women and wants to make decisions about our bodies. It ain't gonna happen. We've come too far since the 50's and 60's to ever go back. Back then, wealthy white women could get their mistakes taken care of by flying to Europe for an abortion. Poor women of all colors had to resort to back room abortions or self-inflicted attempts to induce miscarriage. Many died. Back then every sexual encounter carried the risk of pregnancy. For some women who were ill who for various reasons should not become pregnant every sexual encounter carried the risk of possibly dying. Then, the pill was introduced. What a God send. (I know the right-wing doesn't think God approves.) As a young wife, I took the pill. We had four children to support from his first marriage and I wanted to finish college. Then, I graduated and got a teaching job. I stayed on the pill because I wanted to teach a few years before we started a family. Later in life, I used the pill to get rid of an ovarian cyst and avoid surgery and also to treat symptoms of menopause. Thank God for the pill. The freedom it gave me to pursue my goals and treat my health issues is a true blessing. And it should be available to all women. I could afford it. My husband and I both worked. Eventually, his insurance paid for it because it was mandated in our state. We still had a $20.00 co-pay, which we could afford. However, if a woman is a single parent and makes enough to stay off welfare, she may not be able to afford it. First, she may not have insurance. And second, she may not have excess cash for the co-pay if she does have coverage. Between the costs of child care, rent, utilities, food, insurance, gasoline, etc. many women can't pay. That is why we need this mandate and we aren't going to let it go away.