Contraception is a critical issue for women of all ages and social class because the decision to have a baby impacts a woman’s physical, mental, and emotional health. Contraception is also very costly and is an expense that a woman primarily shoulders. Not every employer’s health insurance plan provides benefits for prescription contraceptives and devices. A personal survey of 50 adults with varying types of insurance plans, asked if their health insurance plans provided coverage for birth control, Viagra, or abortion. Everyone surveyed maintain that his plan provides coverage for Viagra, a sexual enhancement drug, and abortion. The same survey showed that 26% of the insurance plans do not provide benefits for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved prescription contraceptives or devices for the solitary purpose of preventing pregnancy (personal communication, 2010). Not providing coverage for birth control, yet providing coverage for other types of prescription drugs, services, and devices, is discriminatory against women and has a negative impact on an employer’s and the government’s economics. The federal government should mandate that all health care plans provide coverage for FDA approved contraceptives because not providing them is discriminatory against women.…
