Argumentative Essay: The Birth Control Pill

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Sixty two percent of the population of women uses contraception. The most common method is the birth control pill. 10.6 million women use this contraception. When used accurately, birth control prohibits pregnancy. Today, due to the Affordable Care Act, all private health plans are required to provide contraceptive coverage at no cost to patients. When congress passed the Affordable Care Act, it created major controversy. “Roman Catholic bishops and others have said the government is stepping on religious liberty by forcing Catholic institutions, such as hospitals, to include contraception in their employees' health insurance plans” (New Haven Register). Others say that people are denying the scientific facts and birth control should be covered …show more content…

People have the opinion that women should have full access to all birth control options. Birth control does not just prevent pregnancy, it also relieves the side effects from menstrual cycles and it also stops acne. Birth control is known to have many benefits. The combination pill is known to “reduce or help prevent: bone thinning, cysts in the breasts and ovaries, endometrial and ovarian cancers, serious infections in the ovaries, anemia, and premenstrual syndrome” (cite). It is also beneficial for women’s and children’s health because the pill prevents unintended pregnancies. Unintended pregnancies are very common and mostly affect low income women who cannot afford the pill. The Institute of Medicine came to the conclusion that women with unintended pregnancies “are more likely to receive delayed or no prenatal care and to smoke, consume alcohol, be depressed, and experience domestic violence during pregnancy” (Rinkunas). Forty-five percent of pregnancies, in 2011, were unintended. Because of this high percentage of unintended pregnancies, the Institute of Medicine recommended the federal government to cover the cost of all forms of birth control. This recommendation was one of eight by the Institute of Medicine to be incorporated into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Congress passed the PPACA federal health care reform, and Obama signed it into …show more content…

Many people think that ObamaCare is too expensive and that it is unfair that contraceptives are free when people struggling to pay for their medication for heart conditions and other severe medical conditions. Others’ may view that birth control as a form of abortion. Recently, the house introduced the Conscience Protection Act Bill. The bill “is meant to add additional protection for those who are against abortion and birth control on the basis of religion” (Woodsen). Religious beliefs take a vast role in this debate. The Retailer Hobby Lobby and Manufacturer Conestoga Woods are family owned business’ whose religious beliefs hold that birth control is a form of abortion and therefore prohibited by their faith. They believe conception is the moment when life begins. While these enterprises did not refuse to provide their employees with daily birth control pills, but they did refuse to provide the morning after pills and two kinds of intrauterine device. “The majority justices declared that Americans have a right to hold religious beliefs and to not be forced by the government to act in ways that violate those beliefs” (Richey). People think that it is wrong when the government violates their religious beliefs. “Catholic-run institutions should not be forced to pay for or offer to employees a service abhorrent to the official beliefs of the church” (New Haven Register). Ever

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