Political changes may limit access to medicine needed by young patients

America, “Land of the Free”, is believed to have been built on principles of basic human autonomy. Autonomy is defined as “self-directing freedom and especially moral independence”, or choice over your own actions and body. 

The extent to which autonomy should be recognized and respected is far from a new battle, especially when it comes to reproductive health care, an issue that impacts teenage girls more extensively than many people understand.

The World Health Organization (WHO), a global organization to help fight infections and diseases and overall help public health improve, considers access to reproductive health care as a basic human right: “Ensuring access for all people to their preferred contraceptive methods advances several human rights including the right to life and liberty, freedom of opinion and expression and the right to work and education, as well as bringing significant health and other benefits.” 

In recent months, concerns over health care in the US have been rising sharply, especially among women of all ages.

Within hours of taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders, including one that begins U.S. withdrawal from WHO. 

Many Americans fear that the Trump administration will take further action related to health care, especially impacting women’s access to reproductive health care.

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Women’s Health Survey 2024 shows that 29% of women ages 18 to 49 who take an oral contraceptive have reasons that don’t include pregnancy prevention. This number is certain to be higher for teenage girls. 

This means that if access to oral contraceptives is limited, many girls and women would lose access to the medication that they use to help with menstrual cycle management, dysmenorrhea, acne, anemia, and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) among other things. 

“I have endometriosis and it is the best medication to control the symptoms from that for the time being,” said one Minnehaha student. “I don’t know for sure because that would require surgery, but I’ve had really painful periods the last couple of years, and the symptoms lineup with all the symptoms of endometriosis … [taking birth-control pills] has helped immensely with my problems.” 

So what is the current administration’s plan, and what are the stakes for reproductive health? And what do these statistics mean for not just child-bearing women, but society as a whole?

“I think [Trump is] taking stabs at the dark,” Inaaya Hinton, a senior at Minnehaha Academy, said while discussing these issues in a small coffee shop. “the dark being literal human beings … his actions are very reckless.” 

Medical professionals express concern

Hinton is not the only one who is experiencing fear following the results of the 2024 presidential election; she is joined by many women across the country, including medical professionals.

“Trump is demonstrating that he thinks he can make executive orders regarding anything, and I suspect that we may see some executive orders regarding health care, especially regarding reproductive health care,” said Dr. Britt Erickson, a Minnehaha alumna (‘99) and Associate Professor of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Minnesota.

Erickson specializes in researching and treating ovarian, cervical and uterine cancer; however, she also performs common gynecological procedures such as Intrauterine Devices and tubal ligation.

An Intrauterine Device, or IUD, is a contraceptive that is inserted into the uterus. While the majority of users are interested in the product’s 99% effectiveness for pregnancy prevention, it is also used for heavy bleeding, severe menstrual cramps, symptoms of endometriosis, and to lessen the risk of endometrial cancer. 

If oral contraceptives do get banned, many users will have to find an alternative, such as an IUD, to battle painful periods and unpredictable menstrual cycles. 

Many women are scared that Trump’s future policies will prevent them from getting oral contraceptives or emergency contraception such as the morning-after pill. Trump has yet to make his plan for the future of contraceptives public yet. Along with the fear of the unknown, many are rushing to their OB-GYN’s office to get long-term contraceptive procedures. 

Following the election results of 2016, long-term contraceptive procedures, such as IUD insertions, went up by 21.6%. The results of 2024, however, saw a spike of “a 966% increase in sales of emergency contraception from the week before in the 60 hours after the election” according to AP News. 

“I would be very frustrated if birth control was banned, because obviously I think people have a right to medication that is prescribed to them that is not causing harm to those around them, which is most medications,” said the student who fears losing her prescription. “As someone who has struggled with such severe pain for so long, I would be really really angry if the tool that helps me with that went away.” 

Many people say Trump is responsible for the spike in contraceptives/procedures and that he will take away their freedom for reproductive care. Should this be a decision that women are rushed into because of politics? 

“I think they should leave all of the decision making up to doctors who are educated, who are seeing patients and who are experts in this field,” Erickson said, “just like they don’t affect other aspects of health care…they’re not telling people how to manage heart disease, they’re not telling us how to manage cancer. They’re trusting expert physicians and nurses. I think the same should be for reproductive health care.”

Abortion fighting impacts other issues

Access to abortion often dominates political discussions and opinion polls. For example, studies done by Pew Research from 1995 to 2024 have found that a consistent 60% or so of American adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The focus on abortion sometimes interferes with other aspects of women’s health. 

On his fourth day in office, Trump pardoned 23 anti-abtion activists who blockaded clinics that offered abortions – along with other care, another major issue in the reproductive health care world. 

“One thing that people need to realize is that a lot of clinics that provide abortion care are also the same places that are providing birth control and access to cancer screening as well as treating other conditions,” Erickson said. “And so very rarely does a place only do, for example, abortion care. And so when those facilities, especially places like Planned Parenthood, are limited in access, then we’re also getting a lot less cancer screening and access for people to have birth control.” 

Health-care concerns have raised awareness among younger citizens about the ways politics can affect their lives.

“Maybe one of my friends might need an abortion one day, and then confide in me. So I’ve had to do my due diligence more so now,” Hinton said with passion. “I feel like I’m more educated now.” 

The United States, a country that was supposedly built on the idea of freedom for all, is being forced to face conflicting views about human autonomy. Many Americans are finding themselves getting long-term contraceptive procedures out of fear of Trump’s plan.

“I think that that’s the problem with our talk about politics,” Hinton shared. “We choose one person to be the face of a movement, and that’s erasing all the nuance.” 

As Trump will be in office for the coming four years, many young people like Hinton will need to learn to adapt to his future policies. America will have to see what these policies are like as time goes on.