I want to start this off by saying #ThanksObama. Thank you for keeping coverage of birth control in the Affordable Care Act.

The first day I got my period, I genuinely thought I was dying. I was 10 years old, driving with my family to the beach and all of a sudden I was in intense pain and became feverish. That morning, I had tried a new lip gloss and my mind immediately went to the worst case scenario: “What if I had accidentally swallowed some lip gloss and it was poisonous?!” I never dreamed a period could be so painful. Sure, my elementary school health class had mentioned cramps might hurt a little, but not hurt so bad that they could cause vomiting on the side of the road.
Every month for the next 11 years my body began to play a game of Russian Roulette with my period. Is it going to be one of the milder periods? Or is this first day the one where I have to call my mom to get me from school because the intensity of the cramps and nausea (even after taking two Advils) is distracting me from the lecture?
Over the course of these years not only have I missed several classes, but I also had to take numerous tests while feeling as though I might throw up at any moment. You can’t make up a test just because you feel sick that day, and there’s usually no doctor note that comes with your period. Tests under normal circumstances can already be hard; taking them in such all-consuming pain can be nearly impossible.The pain from my period even affected some days of my internship with the House Democrats in the South Carolina State House because it caused me to be sluggish and drastically affected my productivity, which made even easy tasks hard to concentrate on.

However, this all changed in May of this year when I started taking a birth control pill for the first time. I had always avoided birth control due to a combination of fears surrounding altering my hormone levels and not wanting to ask my parents to pay for it. But after taking a Women’s Health course my junior year of college, I learned about the science behind how different types of birth control could help my body and soon I learned that my insurance covered birth control medication once the Affordable Care Act became effective. Both of my problems were soon resolved.
Thanks to the pill, the past 5 months have been much better. My periods are lighter and a lot less painful; even the first day can now be handled with just two Advil. I am now a fully functioning, productive member of society every day of the month – no period interference..
So, #ThanksObama for fighting to make sure women’s medical needs are covered under their health insurance and allowing me access to the medical care that allows me to fully participate in society all of the time.
Letter to the Editor for Richmond Times Dispatch /
Richmond, Virginia 8.20.15
I was in college in the 1960’s before Roe v Wade. I knew
fellow female students who got pregnant. Here’s the
truth: the POOR females who had no choice got back
alley abortions. Some were permanently mutilated
and many died. The RICH females were flown to other
countries for safe, secure abortions or their families
‘arranged’ for one through a family physician. Wealthy
females will always have access to abortions, but
without this access you are condemning poor women
to back alley mutilations or bringing children into this
world who cannot be cared for. While many people
have vilified Planned Parenthood, it has helped women
deal with health issues for over half a century.
Today the attacks on Planned Parenthood are executed
by anti-choice zealots who will go to any length to
stigmatize providers to restrict not only abortion but
even women’s healthcare. This current outcry started
when an antiabortion activist posed as a biomedical
research company representative. He secretly
videotaped PP physicians discussing fetal tissue
donations. These sting videos were edited in the
most misleading way possible to offend the viewer’s
moral sense. This small group of extremists have
harassed PP clinics for decades to further their own
ideological agenda.
In response to this uproar, The New England Journal
of Medicine expressed that they support Planned
Parenthood on fetal tissue research. They stated:
“The contraception services that Planned Parenthood
delivers may be the single greatest effort to prevent
the unwanted pregnancies that result in abortions.
We are outraged by those who debase these women,
this work and PP by distorting the facts for political ends.
Virtually every person in this country has benefited from
research using fetal tissue. Any discussion of the
ethics of fetal tissue research must begin with its
unimpeachable claim to have saved the lives and
health of millions of people….”
Fetal tissue research is lawful in America. It was
discussed, voted on and supported by both political
parties. It promotes medical research to end chronic
disease, terminal illnesses, and beneficial vaccines
for Ebola, HIV, etc.
Taking away funding from Planned Parenthood and
other abortion care providers means millions could
lose access to their trusted, high-quality care provider.
If we allow a vigilant group of political extremists to
dictate our healthcare policies for women in America,
millions of middle class and poor women will be
deprived of diagnostic tests for cancer, routine health
care checks, STD’S and contraception. However you
feel about abortion, extremists and politicians shouldn’t
be allowed to take away funding and deny access to
health care.
K. Franck
Richmond, Virginia
qatarkat@yahoo.com
I’m a NOW advocate but please refer to the man as President Obama not Obama.
This is ridiculous.
The Extreme Right (actually, is there no other kind of “Right”?) wants a dictatorship, not a democracy, for this country. It is appalling that they total control over women and their choice as to the health and well-being of their physical and pyschological state.
It’s long overdue that this nonsense stopped.