The Hill News

Women’s History Month started under less than auspicious terms for women as another unjust fight against their rights has been picked by Republicans. As if the recent state-level initiatives targeted at curbing reproductive rights weren’t enough, the amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act introduced by Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri pushed the right-wing crusade against reproductive rights back on to the national stage. The measure seeking to allow employers to opt out of the federal benefit mandate would have translated into decreased coverage for women seeking preventive services, including contraception, and was voted down in the Senate by a narrow margin.

This is yet another example of extreme legislative initiatives aimed at eroding women’s access to reproductive health care. While this might not sound as radical as forcing a woman to have a transvaginal ultrasound or as putting an equal sign between a “fertilized egg” and a ! “person”, having a debate on contraception in the 21st century in the United States seems to be outside the realm of reality. Perhaps more appropriate for the Middle Ages, this discussion certainly doesn’t fit our modern world and a democratic society, where a woman having control over her body should be a non-debatable, fundamental human right.

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