The Government Shouldn't Make My Boss Pay For My Birth Control

I'm a 21-year-old female, a full-time college student, an uninsured full-time employee, and I don't want my employer to pay for my birth control.

Obamacare's controversial conception mandate is set to be considered by the Supreme Court soon, after a federal court on Nov. 1 ruled that the mandate infringes upon employers' religious rights. The mandate requires all employer health care plans provide free contraception. The challenge is being brought by Hobby Lobby, which is alleging that employers should not be forced to provide contraception coverage if it violates their religious and/or moral beliefs — and they're right.

Private companies and employers having the freedom to choose how to run their business is a key part of free enterprise and free market. More importantly, having the right to opt out of something that goes against one's beliefs is fundamental to democracy and to freedom of religion.

I've been uninsured my whole life, and I pay for my contraception out of my own pocket. I take a generic brand, and it costs me $65 a month. Yes, it's expensive, but that's my choice. 

Medical insurance is for emergency visits and check-ups, and most contraception isn't a medical necessity or required to maintain your health. Just because something is costly doesn't mean you can cry foul, try and deem it a right, and demand that someone else (the deep, endless pockets of corporations or other taxpayers) pays for it.

Interestingly, the majority of Americans oppose Obamacare's contraception mandate. The latest Rasmussen Report found that just 31% of the American people still believe that businesses should be required by law to cover contraceptives, while 51% oppose the Obamacare mandate and believe employers should not be required.

We hear the "you can't use your religious beliefs to infringe on others rights" arguments often, especially when it comes to social issues. However, employers deciding not to cover contraception are not infringing on anyone's rights. In fact, forcing them to cover it, and in the process infringing on their beliefs, is a violation of their rights.

These religion-affiliated employers are not asking for subsidies. They're asking for the right to exercise their beliefs by not being forced to pay for something they see as immoral. Fighting for their right to refuse coverage is not to spite the American people or to perpetuate a "war on women." They should have the freedom to offer their employees what's in line with their beliefs (within reason, of course).

What about the "women who have no choice but to go without contraception?" I was in that position for a while. When I determined that my paycheck could handle it, I budgeted and paid the cost. Before then, I just did without. If a woman has no choice but to go without contraception birth control, then they she should go without contraception birth control. The woman has a choice whether or not to have sex, and in that choice, rational adults will consider the possible repercussions of their actions or reap the consequences.

While religious liberty is a fundamental right, the courts have also ruled that it cannot be used to deny others their rights, such as civil rights, or to use discriminatory practices. Of course there's a line that cannot be crossed, such as refusing to hire someone based on race or sexual orientation, citing religious reasons. However, contraception is on an entirely different scale. I missed the contraception right in my perusal of the Constitution. I'll tell you what I did find — religious rights.

This so-called "war on women" is being perpetuated by throwing around terms such as a "woman's right to access/coverage." We don't have a right to free access. Our choices are our own choices, and we must take responsibility for them. You wouldn't buy a new car if you knew you couldn't afford it, no matter how much you wanted to own that car, would you? Would you force someone else to cover that car, even though it's your choice to buy it and use it? If you really want it that bad, then budget like a responsible adult and set aside money.

There is no right to contraception. There is a right to religious beliefs and protection under the first amendment. There's a right to make your own decisions about your life and be responsible for them. Employers are not forcing their beliefs on you. They're not telling you whether you can or can't have birth control, or whether you should or shouldn't. They're not arguing whether or not contraception is moral. They're saying that they shouldn't have to pay for it.

As Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, "The government doesn't get to decide for religious people what their religious beliefs are. They (the people) get to decide that." Purchase your own insurance to cover it, or pay for it out of your pocket like I do.

Still can't? Then use a condom.