A controversial Supreme Court ruling earlier this week allows employers to deny women health insurance plans that include birth control, if they object on religious grounds. A Utah Senator expressed his support for the Supreme Court decision, stating that women — from his point of view — use birth control for “largely recreational purposes.”
Many, however, believe that it is unfair to say that women use birth control for recreational purposes only. “The overwhelming of women report using contraception for economic and medical reasons. Sixty-two million women in the U.S. are currently in their childbearing years and most — 99 percent — use birth control to prevent pregnancies, the National Women’s Law Center finds,” ThinkProgress.org writes. Another study concludes, “Sixty-three percent of women who use birth control say that they rely on contraception to take better care of themselves and their families.”
The Utah Senator and Republican, Mike Lee, and his statements also do not consider medical reasons for taking the pill. A great deal of women rely on hormonal contraceptives to help ease menstrual pain, regulate menstrual cycles, and eliminate acne. Certain women also use hormonal birth control to treat serious health conditions. “Some 1.5 million women use birth control to help with medical issues such as ovarian cancer, ovarian cysts, endometriosis and endometrial cancer,” The Huffington Post explains.
“Women use birth control for a variety of reasons, none of which should be considered ‘recreational’. I can only hope he was misquoted as the statement, as printed, makes no sense.” says Carla Zolman, Attorney at Zolman Law Firm