By: Kaylee Reynolds
October 11, 2026
The Trump Administration has been rolling back the access to contraceptive devices once again this year as Katia Riddle from NPR News states, “It’s been over 50 years that women in this country have had the freedom to plan pregnancies. Birth control became widely available here in the 1960s. Under the Nixon administration, Congress created a program called Title X. It guaranteed free contraception to low-income people. That’s still the funding that Stephanie McDowell relies on to run her public health program – or did, until a few months ago.” Speaking of McDowell’s program, hers amongst many others have been withholding their fundings causing them to struggle alongside over 800,000 people who had access to these resources. This is all according to 15 other agencies who are all now banding together and suing the administration.
Riddle later also went into saying, “These cuts jeopardize access to health care, including contraception, for millions of women in coming years. There’s also recently been a number of attempts to limit access to contraception at the state level.” Which this has been a running ordeal for years now even as early as 2020 when covid has struck and women’s rights began to get picked apart and confined into what they “could or couldn’t do.” Rallies and protests were started in alliance with many other forms of “you will not silence us.” Women today and even in later years have been fighting for our rights the moment we women decided we were going to. The fact that even today, in the 21st century, we as women are still having to fight for rights on things we shouldn’t even be fighting for in the first place? Things and resources that should be ours to begin with, not something we have to be told whether we should have them. Let alone, even use them.
This, as a female journalist myself, makes me so sad to know that not only my future but the future for many women to come is being stripped from us, year-by-year. The future for our daughters, their daughters, and so on and so forth for the many women to come. That this is what we have to put up with every single year, and never once not be afraid of the next thing that will be taken from us or limited to our use, functions, and right to use and act for OUR own bodies. Coincidentally, this took place and got word out at the start of October here at Thiel College. Those of you who know or may not know, but October is the month of breast cancer awareness, not only does it affect men, but it effects most women. It is ironic that our rights are being decided upon little by little during a time when we gather in support for one another on a matter that affects us all.
When will it be time that our rights will not be questioned? Is it that we are the other half that is not seen as equal but as competition? Why can’t we simply be treated and seen as equal in the eyes of anyone. In healthcare, state, judicial, federal, all-seeing levels? Why is it that for us to be seen and heard, we must scream.
Amongst us all, 800,000 people women and men who relied on aid and healthcare regarding contraception, are now jeopardized. What has come to this? NPR News says, “All of this is building a structure that makes it harder and harder for individuals to control their sexual and reproductive lives, to plan their families and have kids when they want to.”
If we want to have a future. Do not limit those who have the power to create it.
