1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I urge you to loudly and emphatically call out the Trump administration’s attempts to redefine birth control as “abortifacients.” This anti-science belief is posed to set a dangerous precedent in the United States and abroad. The administration is holding back the distribution of a stockpile of birth control (including IUDs, oral contraceptive pills, and hormonal implants) that was meant to be sent abroad to help women in countries such as Bangladesh and the D.R. Congo. Multiple spokespeople have referred to the stockpile as “abortifacient birth control.” This references the false anti-choice talking point that birth control causes abortions. If the administration is allowed to literally burn the stockpile on the premise that birth control is an abortifacient, it will set a precedent that will make it easier for birth control to be legally reclassified here in the US and then outlawed under abortion bans. This is an issue that matters a great deal to me personally. I use oral contraceptives to regulate my hormones. Without it, I suffer immensely from PMDD. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder causes me to experience severe mood swings and depression. Other medications, like antidepressants, are not enough to treat it. I need access to birth control to be able to function and have a fulfilling life. Please, do not allow the Trump administration to reclassify birth control as an abortifacient. For my sake, for the millions of women in the US who use it as birth control and to regulate hormones, and for the millions of women abroad who will be harmed by lack of access to birth control as a result of this administration’s callous cruelty.