{"id":322,"date":"2017-02-02T19:49:32","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T02:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iamhalfhope.com\/content\/?p=322"},"modified":"2025-12-11T22:28:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T05:28:05","slug":"womens-reproductive-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.iamhalfhope.com\/content\/2017\/02\/02\/womens-reproductive-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Women’s Reproductive Health Care"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to the World Health Organization: \u201c<\/span>Sexual and reproductive health problems are responsible for one third of health issues for women between the ages of 15 and 44 years<\/a>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0Considering all of the possible health issues in humans, one third for sex and reproduction is a lot. And what\u2019s more upsetting is that we know quite a bit about preventing and treating sexual and reproductive health problems, but too often women still do not receive or have access to the care they need. Too often women do not have the power to choose what\u2019s best for them and are told what to do instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is important to note that this statistic is for women worldwide, but we can\u2019t just sit back and think to ourselves that the US has it all figured out either, because we don\u2019t — women in our country are suffering from problems related to sexual and reproductive health. \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this day and age, we have the science and medicine available to help women take control of their reproductive health, and they<\/span> should always have the opportunity to choose what\u2019s right for them. In order to fully exercise their rights guaranteed in the US — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — women need to have reproductive freedom<\/span>. We should be able to choose if and when we become mothers. We should have complete access to reproductive health care choices<\/a> — everything from preventative health care to screenings to treatment; from contraceptives to assisted reproductive technologies; from prenatal care to maternal care; to pregnancy termination.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately in this country, the Affordable Care Act had started to address some of these problems; it made historic gains regarding women\u2019s health care, both in terms of more people receiving coverage and in terms of what services are covered by insurance. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) tightened regulations in the insurance business in order to better protect and serve the patient. As a result, health care coverage was expanded to many Americans who were previously not covered, including young adults who preferred to stay on their parents\u2019 plans. The ACA made it illegal for insurance to be denied to people with pre-existing conditions, helping all kinds of people receive insurance, including women who were previously denied coverage for pre-existing conditions such as having had a c-section or being the victim of domestic violence or sexual assault. The ACA made gender rating illegal — insurance companies can no longer charge women more for insurance than they charge men. <\/span><\/p>\n

And under the ACA, insurance companies are now responsible for covering an impressive list of preventative health services. For women specifically, services that are now covered by insurance include<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n