Nurx — an app with a purpose of dispensing affordable birth control to women with and without insurance — is a revolutionary idea.
This brand-new company could open doors for those who might not have easy access to birth control.
Although Nurx is a brilliantly designed app with the best intentions, the context surrounding its creation is alarming: current legislation might make it a lot more difficult for women to have access to birth control.
When addressing the issue of women’s access to birth control, the most common point of concern is that of sexual freedom. The problem with primarily focusing on this point is that it does not put any emphasis on the fact that birth control can be used for more than just pregnancy prevention.
Now more than ever it is important that people look at women’s access to birth control as a human right, considering the Trump Administration may allow insurance companies the choice to cover birth control.
In a poll conducted by a member of this board, 322 UNC students responded to questions regarding usage of birth control, and out of those who were polled 74.8 percent reported using some type of pregnancy prevention.
When asked the reasoning behind using birth control, many wrote that they needed it to reduce acne during menstruation, migraines and pain from cramping. There were also many reports of needing birth control to regulate menstrual cycles. Most responses included using birth control for pregnancy prevention, but many other reasons were listed.
One response mentioned using birth control for pregnancy prevention in the case of rape, which is a pressing concern. Clearly birth control usage is a multi-faceted issue, especially in a college setting.
UNC has a resource for women to go to for birth control on its Campus Health website, which shows the University acknowledges student reliance on birth control.
