This post was written by Guest Blogger Crystal Guerrero
In this week's New York Times, an opinion article argues, "Women don't need a doctor to tell them if they need cold medicine or condoms, and they shouldn't need a doctor's permission to take the pill." Is that true?
Imagine a world where, if you wanted birth control, you’d just go to your doctor, talk about what kind is right for you, and then they’d give it to you for free. Simple, right? Back in reality, though, things are a lot more complicated.
When I was younger and first learning about sex and birth control, it was always the pill, the pill, the pill. Now there is the pill, the patch, the ring, the implant, and so on, but all we ever hear about are hormonal birth control methods. What about non-hormonal birth control?
Girls and guys are not equally held responsible for reproductive health and family planning; I think that girls are unfairly held more responsible. Girls are the ones that frequent the family planning clinics, take birth control, and can become pregnant. But since it takes two to make a baby, guys need to be equally responsible for information on birth control and reproductive health.
Now you know the basic options available to you and your partner to prevent a pregnancy. The next step is talking with your partner. This may feel a bit awkward, so we’ve included some ideas of how to get the conversation going.