In the Little Sisters v. Pennsylvania case, the Supreme Court ruled that Employers' health insurance plans are no longer obligated to cover birth control and contraceptives. This means that employers who are against birth control can opt out of covering it in their health insurance.The decisions was 7-2, with Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting. Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh, both convicted of sexual assault, were allowed to vote on this case.
Before we turn to the obvious implications on women, we should first analyze its greater implications on Obamacare at large. The lack of protection for all people, regardless of employer, questions the core of universal healthcare. Republicans against Obamacare now have a court case which exemplifies "selective" universal healthcare.
The debate over birth control stems from the lack of women's rights over their own bodies. The Equal Rights Amendment was never passed, and it shows. Women have yet to achieve full ownership of their bodies under the government. Birth control is political, especially within the debate on abortion. It is ironic that those who are anti-abortion are also anti-birth control, when birth control is the best way to prevent pregnancy -- and therefore abortion.
The ruling also ignores birth control's multiple uses beyond contraception. It can aid in regulating hormones and alleviate painful periods, among other treatments. Though, these other functions should not be necessary to justify its need.
Women need healthcare coverage, because their bodies deserve protection. The right of women to their bodies is a threat to patriarchal institutions which depend on subjugating female bodies to subjugate women in all aspects of life. If we look at The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, the entire society is based on the control of women's bodies and specifically their reproductive rights -- by elite and powerful men.
What is a small change in Obamacare policy is going to affect thousands of women, and will inhibit them from leading free lives. Our Handmaid's Tale begins now, and we must stop it before our daughters are forced to become Handmaids -- forced to bear children for the nation that does not serve them.
