Sexism in the ACA repeal

The ACA, among the many things it brought, was the ability for women to finally be covered completely for birth control. This came as a huge victory as this medication is desperately needed for medical and sexual assistance. In the sexual realm it prevents unwanted pregnancies and allows parents to prepare before they bring a child into this world. On the medical sides they help with a lot of different problems from menstrual problems to hormonal imbalances. With the change in administration, and the further crusade to repeal the ACA, there has been a more conservative approach to this with a very sexist agenda. The new healthcare repeal and replacement takes away the coverage of birth control and leaves it to the decision of the insurance companies individually. On the opposite side of this, we see that male sexual enhancement drugs like Viagra are completely mandated to be covered. The absurdity of this is baffling to anyone, left or right, but it falls inherently with the common underlying attitude that our social system has had for women for decades. This edict is that, we do not empower women with the idea of responsibility in sex. Instead we subjugate women with that idea. Men on the other hand are viewed as the control over the ability for women to reproduce. Condoms and male enhancement is a topic of social conversation, media display and pride while in the other case birth control is the topic of discretion and seriousness. The attitudes have been different for quite some time and when conservatives came into power over this issue, the wave of change for the better has ceased. The biggest issue in this department is that there are no women involved in that conversation, it is only decided by old white men. Birth control is simply seen as necessary and something that people need to pay for like condoms, which is extremely short sighted as condoms aren't used medically. Viagra is marketed to be a cure for a deficiency or a medical problem and cause men to get cardiovascular screenings which to the uninformed is far greater of an advantage compared to birth control. Men are only seen as the gender to have fun and be safe with nothing really at stake as we have shown, while women carry this burden walking into the age of sexual maturity. This dynamic has to end culturally and then it will further proceed to end in laws and in actions.