Imagine: You are suffering from a rare heart disease. Without the right medication, it will get worse, eventually leading to death. You go to your doctor, seeking help, and they prescribe the life-saving medication. But as you go to pick it up from your local pharmacy you find that your insurance does not cover it because ‘they don’t believe in the science’. For most people, it is inconceivable to think that they would be turned away from getting such simple healthcare. Sadly for many American women, this is their new reality when trying to get birth control. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had laws to protect women’s rights to affordable birth control for years. The Trump administration tweaked this act, leaving hundreds of thousands of women without access to affordable birth control. Although some companies claim personal or religious objections, for years these companies already had workarounds on the ACA. Ultimately, insurance categorization of contraception and personal and/or religious beliefs should not get in the way of the health of women.  Employers should be required to provide birth control because though people have the right to religious and/or personal beliefs, employers' beliefs should not get in the way of their female employees' lives, especially their health. The article, “Birth Control Access Is Curtailed, Again,” informs readers that, “In the wake of the 7-2 ruling in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, ‘between 70,500 and 126,400 women would immediately lose access to no-cost contraceptive services’” (Birth 1).  Little Sisters of the Poor is a Catholic organization for women. It was founded to care for elderly women who were homeless or living in poverty. he organization wanted nothing to do with birth control in any way because of religious objections so the case was brought to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). Legal teams from New Jersey and Pennsylvania fought against the organization, attempting to protect women's rights, however, the court leaned toward the Little Sisters, leaving thousands of women without access to affordable birth control. This decision had more negative effects than positive ones, though. The article, “Yes, Your Boss Can Now Take Away Your Birth Control,” states, “Restrictions like this also disproportionately impact Black and Latinx people [...] for whom basic health care is often out of reach because of historic and continued underinvestment in access to affordable care” (Greene 2). Rev. Dr. Marvin A. Marsh was a baptist pastor, and he worked with Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania. In an interview, he expressed his opinions on the topic saying, “What my faith does not do is permit me to impose my beliefs on others [...] true religious freedom means letting people make their own decisions” (Marsh 3). In the words of the reverend, people are allowed their own beliefs, however, it should be noted that, if their beliefs become disrespectful or get in the way of the health of other people, these beliefs should not hold so much weight when creating laws. In the current climate of law-making, it is not a surprise that something as simple as primary health care needs for women is being taken away for imprudent reasons. Furthermore, birth control is not only used for contraception. Birth control can help with keeping conditions like PCOS, irregular periods, menstrual cramps, and in Gina Berry’s case, endometriosis, under control. Gina Berry of Murray, Kentucky shared the story of her experiences with the insanity called insurance plans. “ [...] my doctor prescribed birth control pills for me in order to slow the progression of endometriosis. When I went to have it filled, I discovered that my insurance didn’t cover it” (Greene 1). That’s not the end, “I was even more upset to learn that our insurance covered Viagra” (Greene 1). When Gina spoke with the human resources department where she worked, she was told that even though she was using the pills for other reasons, “It still serves that other purpose,” (Greene 1). This interview took place in 2020. It is hard to believe that things like this are still happening in such modern times. The fact that some people cannot get over their more or less irrelevant reasons to protect the needs of others is truly surprising. As the science has proven, “Ready access to contraception promotes healthy pregnancies, lower abortion rates, and healthier outcomes for women overall” (Threat 1). Those who have their own beliefs about birth control must take a step away from their opinions and look at the bigger picture: women’s health is human health. Additionally, companies with personal or religious reasons against birth control already had a workaround on the ACA. As stated in the article, “A Threat to Contraception Access,” “The Obama administration exempted churches from the mandate [ACA], and it offered a reasonable compromise for other employers with religious objections” (Threat 1). Nevertheless, this wasn't good enough for said companies with religious objections. Because the exemption on the mandate still kept women eligible for affordable birth control through other means, there were more issues. In the case of the Little Sisters of the Poor, even this compromise was not acceptable. The Obama administration did everything in its power to make all sides happy. There were previously laws put in place to protect religious liberty and the Obama administration was aware of that, “The Obama administration accommodates all sides in good faith” (Threat 2). When President Trump came into power, things changed. It is a known fact that the Trump administration was definetly more conservative than the Obama administration and the ACA exemptions were a place where the presidential differences were more apparent. The decisions made by the Trump administration left about 70,000 and 127,000 women without ready access to birth control (Birth 1). In conclusion, employers should be required to cover birth control in their insurance plans because people's beliefs should not get in the way of women's health, and birth control is not only used for contraception. Also, though some employers have objections to the overall goal, whether they be religious or personal, there are plenty of ways to get an exemption from the laws put in place to make affordable reproductive healthcare accessible to all. After looking at all the facts, the term ‘birth control’ becomes seemingly inaccurate. In reality, it's medication, some people may use it for contraception, but for others, it is used to treat diseases that if left untreated could get increasingly worse. For a sizeable percentage of the female population, access to birth control could mean life or death and no one’s religious or personal beliefs should get in the way of that. “Communities, countries, and ultimately the world are only as strong as the health of their women.” -Michelle Obama