2020 Birth Control & Amy Coney Barrett Confirmation
What does it mean to be pro-life in 2020? To me, it means to be pro-education and anti-carceral; to be pro-social-distancing and anti-death penalty. However, in the white supremacist settler-colonial carceral state--or states, as in the United States-- to call oneself āpro-lifeā means, well, anything but that. It means to be pro-capitalism and the pursuit of control of the labor supply, and pro-forced birth. It means to be anti-people, especially poor and/or nonwhite queer people. To be pro-life in this sense is to be an unabashed and brazen soldier for white supremacy. A white knight, if you will.Ā
This white knight, ever-present, goes by many names and lives (or rather, steals) many lives. One of these names is Amy Coney Barrett, newly sworn-in Supreme Court justice. Barrett is the first nominee to be muscled in and confirmed so quickly with no bipartisan support since the US Civil War.Ā
Barrett vocally opposed the Affordable Care Acts, and has a well-documented campaign against abortion. Now with the conservative Senate majority, access to health care--let alone contraceptive goods and services--may become even more precarious. Though she touts herself as pro-life (in the white-supremacist way), other pro-abortion access party members like GOP senator Lisa Murkowski believe that Barrett will not attempt to overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark case that made abortions legal. Here is an overview of birth control options for queer and nonbinary folks...just in case:
REMEMBER If you have a uterus and ovaries, you can become pregnant even if you take testosterone that stops menstrual bleeding. If you have a penis and testes, you can get someone pregnant, even when on estrogen. Estrogen can lower sperm count, but does not make someone infertile.Ā
For folks with vaginas on testosterone-based HRT, the Copper IUD, according to Dr. Joe Nelson, MD (@DoctorJoeNelson on Twitter), is a āfan favoriteā because it has no hormones and lasts much, much longer than other forms of birth control - up to 12 years. Dr. Nick Gorton, MD (@RNickGorton) tweets that most of his patients who are transmasc and on T opt for long-lasting progestin IUDs because when taken without testosterone they are awesome contraceptives, but with T they do a great job of preventing vaginal bleeding. Other progesterone methods include the implant, pill, or Depo shot. Progesterone-only pills like Slynd have a lower risk of clots or stroke than estrogen/drospirenone methods.
