"We've Got You Covered" Birth Control Blog Carnival!

Earlier this week the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued recommendations that included contraception, yearly well-woman visits, support for breast feeding, counseling for sexually transmitted infections, and screening and counseling for domestic violence, among others, that health insurers should be required to cover at no cost to the woman. Today, Planned Parenthood is teaming up with the National Women's Law Center and bloggers across the internet to discuss the importance of birth control and what the IOM’s decision means for the future of no-cost contraception. Contribute your voice here!

Excerpts of personal blogging reactions are below. Click the titles to read the full stories!

Birth Control Saved My Academic Career, My Relationships, and My Health

"...I began a relationship with someone not too long after I had started taking the pills, right at the very beginning of college, and it's thanks to those pills that I was able to graduate Magna Cum Laude with a 3.8 GPA and multiple honors in the four years it was supposed to take me to graduate. Thanks to those pills, I was able to focus on my education instead of on whether or not I was pregnant. Thanks to those pills, I didn't have to, and won't have to, miss classes and/or work once a month due to unbearable, blindingly painful cramps, and I will be able to maintain a healthy, stress-free sexual relationship with my current boyfriend and attend graduate school without having to worry about having an abortion or raising a child at the same time. Thanks to those pills, if I ultimately decide never to have children, I won't have to have them anyway."

Birth Control Blog Carnival

"...It is hard for me to fathom why, in 2011, this is still an issue--I'm glad, certainly, that so many people are working hard to make this happen, but it's still sad that women's health is something that has to be fought for in these so-called "enlightened" times. Men can get little blue pills (and those cheesy-as-hell ads are all over TV) and giving women access to birth control is still this Big Issue. It makes me want to scream.
I have used the Pill off and on since the age of 18--mostly as a way to control hormone fluctuations, acne, and (forgive the overshare) extra-long, extra-heavy menstrual periods. In this last year on unemployment, I've missed being on the Pill, and one of these days I may actually drag my lazy self over to Planned Parenthood to get back on it. I'm thankful I still have Planned Parenthood in California--the organization is facing all kinds of challenges across the U.S. right now...Anyway, now that I've got the ranty stuff out of the way, the bottom line (and my point) is that allowing all women access to affordable family planning and health screening should be a top priority--and, of course, we should continue educating people about health and wellness in all areas of life, without denying reproductive health."

The Pill's Role In Radicalizing Me at 12 (a local Chicago blogger!)

"...It amazes me how much time women spend trying to NOT get pregnant. I've been menstruating for twenty five years and out of which, only three months have I wanted to get pregnant. I know, my eggs are efficient suckers. That means for 99% of my reproductive years, I've been avoiding the actual reproduction. And I'm sure I have another 5-10 years (maybe even more as I am Latina and all) left to go. I've been fortunate enough to be able to either pay for my pills or be supplied with "samples" over those years. So let's hear it for birth control! GOOOOO BIRTH CONTROL! Thanks for helping me plan my family, my life and my career. Hopefully one day the kid will ask me, "Really? You actually had to pay for birth control? REALLY?!"

Head over to the National Women's Law Center site to read more stories like these, or contribute your own, there's still time!

Technorati tags: Planned Parenthood, National Women's Law Center, IOM, birth control