Opinion Wednesday: Contraception

I'm a scientist, so my thoughts on sex and contraception are fairly straightforward. People will have sex because we are animals with the desire to procreate and further the species. Plus it feels good. Therefore, women should be able to choose when and how they want to have children, so everyone (yes, including teenagers) should have access to safe birth control options. This whole debate on contraception and whether it should be covered for everyone in the country is just such ludicrous banter. I just don't understand the Republican rhetoric on government because most of the time it says, "Stay off my lawn and out of my life", but here's a case where they are trying to be in every woman's vagina. Honestly, I don't care what you do in your life. Of course, I care about my family and friends, but honestly, what you do with your life, your family and your health is YOUR concern, not mine. If you want to take birth control, like nearly 90% of women will at some point in their lives, then I believe that should be covered by your insurance. And, you know what? I don't CARE what you take contraception for, or what form of contraception you take. Know why? Because it's your personal business what you take and why you take it. I hate the argument that "some women need to take bc for reasons other than birth control". I don't care. I don't care if you take it because you have sex with 100 guys a day. Or if you have sex with a guy 100 times a day. I don't care if you take it for your PCOS, or to prevent having another baby with your husband. I also don't care if you take it for acne, for uterine fibroids, or for lighter periods. I just don't care. And really? That's the way health care should work. It should be personalized to you and your situation and your life. It has absolutely nothing to do with churches, governments, Congress, Sandra Fluke, or Rush Limbaugh. It has nothing to do with women being sluts, whores, or any other misogynist, derogatory term you can think of. It has to do with women living their own lives and deciding when (or even if) to have a family. When women have the power to control their own fertility, families do better, financially and emotionally. When women can delay starting a family to get educated or start their own business or pursue their own goals, families are happier, there are fewer mouths to feed, which means more attention, more resources for the children in the family. Birth control and contraception are a basic human right and every woman, no matter their religion, color, creed, nationality or age should have access to contraception. It's just the right thing to do. And calling Congressional committees on contraception that do not include any women is a farce and a waste of time. Calling women who would testify (but were denied the right) a "slut" and a "prostitute" because she was brave enough to stand up for women all over the country is shameless and cowardly. How about we start having a real conversation about women's rights to healthcare and contraception? How about we work towards the goal of increasing sex education, increasing access to free, safe contraception for both women and men, and how about we get rid of these puritanical, outdated visions of how women should or should not act. I'm pretty sure that went up in smoke when my Mom burned her bra in the '60s.