Behind Every Choice Is a Story

Chapter Nine: Viagra

131 Chapter Nine Viagra® yes, birth control no My first awareness of racial injustice came at age three, when I became morally outraged that Juanita, my favorite babysitter, couldn’t go to the high school on “our” side of town. I was a child of the South, and racial discrimination suffused the culture so completely that most people couldn’t even see it. I’ll admit that my outrage was fueled by the knowledge that when school started, she would have to go live with her grandmother across town and therefore wouldn’t be available to play with me. Even so, this incident stayed with me. I am sure that Juanita’s plight shaped my sensibilities about fairness and justice, or the lack of it, in this world. Like racial injustice in the South fifty years ago, other injustices are so pervasive that many don’t see them until somebody points them out. That’s exactly what happened with the pervasive gender inequities in women’s health care, not the least of which is the absence of insurance coverage for contraception under many plans. But unlike the complex issues of race, religion, and culture, once this injustice was pointed out, people “got” it very quickly. 132 • Personally political I was absolutely appalled at the media attention given to Viagra, and then to hear about it being covered by medical insurance; the same kind that wouldn’t pay for my yearly female physical, or my choice to use a single prescription that would allow me to prevent pregnancy. Sometimes I still can’t believe in the injustice of health issues women still have today, and how degrading it is to us. One can only wonder: how will insurers handle the new male birth control that will be available in five years? I guarantee there will not be this level of debate or controversy , mark my words. —Michelle, age thirty-two I have health insurance but it does not cover women’s health at all. —anonymous patient I am a wife and mother. I also teach fourth grade. I had almost reached a state of depression when I found out that my insurance would not cover my birth control pills, unless needed for medical reasons. I am a newlywed and a new mother. During this time I cannot risk having another child nor deny my husband or myself marital pleasure. I was paying an extra $30 per month on birth control pills. It was just too much to handle with the new four hundred dollars per month child care, baby formula, and clothing. —B. J., thirties Jennifer Erickson confronts an injustice Jennifer Erickson was a newlywed Seattle pharmacist working for Bartell Drug Company. She had no notion of herself as an activist for a cause. But Jennifer came face-to-face with the gender injustice of insurance plans that cover most other drugs but not contraception—and the personal became political as a result of her first-hand experience, both as a woman and a health care professional. Viagra® yes, birth control no • 133 I consider myself in many ways a typical American woman. My husband Scott and I have been married for two years. We recently bought our first house. Someday when we feel ready, Scott and I would like to have one or two children. Like many Americans, I get my health insurance through my employer. Shortly after I started working there, I discovered that the company health plan did not cover contraception. Personally, it was very disappointing for me, since contraception is my most important , ongoing health need at this time. But it was also troubling to me professionally, as a health care provider. Contraception is one of the most common prescriptions I fill for women. I am often the person who has the difficult job of telling a woman that her insurance plan will not cover contraceptives. I am unable to give her an acceptable explanation. Why? Because there is no acceptable explanation for this shortsighted policy. My perspective from behind the pharmacy counter gives me a clear picture of the burden this policy places on women, especially the low-income women who are the least equipped to deal with an unplanned pregnancy. I have seen women leave the pharmacy empty-handed because they cannot afford to pay the full cost of their birth control pills, and it breaks my heart. In 1996, we found only...