Opinion

Thoughts on birth control

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Recently [The Badger Herald Editorial Board] covered the UW birth-control ban. It is my obligation as a young woman to inform you how unjust I believe this bill is toward young women on college campuses.

If this bill is voted into law, it would violate women's rights to privacy. According to the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the government cannot pass legislation that intrudes too deeply into the personal life of its citizens. This bill interferes with the choice that young women have to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancy and unintended abortion. This bill would also deny rape victims from having a safe, quick option in order to avoid any unwanted pregnancy. With rape occurring to a woman every two minutes, it is essential to keep emergency contraceptives available.

Being a young woman enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I feel that providing emergency contraceptives is a smart way to protect young adults from having a baby when they are not properly prepared to raise a child. Therefore, I believe that this bill would enhance unwanted pregnancies and abortions and should not be passed as a law in Wisconsin.

Jennifer Illescas Madison, Wis. illescas@wisc.edu