Birth control is one area of life where women in the U.S. and other Western countries often have little dignity.
Consider some questions. Why do you need to get a pap smear to get birth control? Why is it often difficult for a young woman to get an IUD? Why do doctors seldom, if ever, mention non-hormonal methods of birth control? Why is hormonal birth control only available by prescription in the first place?
The answers to these questions are not what you think. IUDs are not particularly dangerous; pap smears have no relation to birth control; non-hormonal birth control can be very effective; and doctors are not looking out for your health when they prescribe birth control, because they never conduct tests to see what type and level of hormone would work best for you and if they refuse you birth control, it is for political, not health, reasons.
There really are no tests to determine which pill (or patch, or ring) would work best for a particular woman. It’s plain old trial and error. The doctor just guesses, maybe throwing in a recommendation for what she likes best or has the most samples of or flyers for. Insurance companies, by and large, don’t reimburse doctors for writing a birth control prescription (and since it’s just a flying leap in the dark, I am not sure that I can blame them) and yet doctors do like to get paid for their time, so the mandatory pap smear came into being. Doctors justify it “for your health.” That’s nice, but if men couldn’t get birth control unless they were tested for a cancer that affects less than 1% of the population, it wouldn’t be so nice.
The whole system is not without its benefits. But it could be so much better.
Women, know your options. Research everything I have just said. Research non-hormonal birth control. Make an informed decision (because your doctor won’t). There is nothing elegant about a woman flat on her back “for her own good,” or a woman nodding uncomprehending “yes”s. You should have knowledge, because knowledge is both power and dignity.
Here are some starting points:
. This book is one of the most informative and useful I’ve ever read. The accompanying website, tcoyf.com, lets you chart anywhere for free.
