Written by Amanda Castro
It’s crazy that a woman’s right to healthcare depends on her wallet. Give to @DCAbortionFund. Make choice a reality:bit.ly/1d4i2Lt—Michelle Chronister (@mchronister) March 16, 2014
The reason it sticks with me is something I haven’t known how to voice, Michelle Chronister is right, a woman’s right to health care should not depend on her wallet.
Let me take a pause for a moment, I am not agreeing that abortion should be considered “healthcare”, but I want to talk about other facets of healthcare for women. Why do I (and others like me) have to pay high premiums to find out why I can’t achieve a healthy and normal pregnancy. If it is an equal right for a woman to terminate a healthy, or even an unhealthy pregnancy (for her or the baby), paid for by taxpayers or her insurance, why do I have to pay all costs trying to find out what is wrong with my body?
I know I am not in a unique situation. I have a high deductible. I have to use up my deductible in order to have any insurance coverage. Any health care I have up to that deductible comes out of my pocket, unless it’s part of a preventative exam. Any blood tests, any diagnostic tools, any medication, anything that could help figure out if there is something wrong with my body is my responsibility. Women seeking birth control, Plan B, or abortions, receive grants, financial aid, and in some cases full coverage for these procedures.
Am I the only person who sees a precarious double standard?
I am not an advocate for abortion in any case. I am, however, truly curious how we can say we have a balanced healthcare system for women if there is such a biased slant against achieving and maintaining healthy pregnancies. If pro-choice advocates can say that women have a choice for an abortion, how is it that the choice to receive healthcare that will help my body work the way it’s supposed to is not a choice? If healthcare now dictates that it is a woman’s “universal right” for an abortion, it should be my right and the right of women like me, to correct health issues so that we can achieve a pregnancy naturally. So why does my healthcare depend on what I can afford, and abortions and birth control don’t?
photo credit: Seattle Municipal Archives via photopin cc
