An Open Letter to My Congress: Don't Take Our Medicine Away

Dear congressmen, policymakers, and the men in charge of making these changes,

My name is Ella, and I'm twenty years old. I'm writing with concern to the recent rules that some members of our government are trying to pass. These rules surrounding birth control would let a broad range of employers stop offering contraceptives through their health insurance plans if they have a "sincerely held religious or moral objection."

120,000 women would be affected: mainly those of us who work at the roughly 200 entities that have been involved in 50 or so lawsuits over birth control coverage. However, this could open the door to hundreds of employers dropping coverage. For instance, there are hundreds of Catholic hospitals, nursing homes and nonprofits that may want to stop providing contraceptives.

I'm one of the one in ten women in America who suffers from endometriosis, and birth control is my medicine. In case you didn't know, endometriosis is a chronic disease. That means it never goes away. It's a reproductive disease. It's manifested as inflammation, swelling, and pain on my uterus, ovaries and other surrounding organs. It has not been researched very much, even though it is incredibly prevalent. It also does not have a cure. I have to live with this disease for the rest of my life. So do ten percent of women in the United States. That's 157,000,00 women. The only treatment to stop endometriosis from spreading throughout my body, creating scar tissue which would cement my organs together, and cause infertility for me later in life, is birth control. If my employer's insurance refuses to provide that for me, I will get sick. We will all get sick.

Endometriosis isn't the only medical condition that's treated with birth control. Polycystic ovarian syndrome, uterine fibroids, cystic acne, weight issues, amenorrhea caused by anorexia and anorexia athletica, Turner's syndrome, primary ovarian insufficiency, and more.

I urge you to please keep the health and safety of the women and uterine-bodied people of this country protected. Don't strip away our basic rights to medicine. These bills can and will cause more harm than good.