Women should not need to bargain for birth control

After years of struggling with side effects, I found an oral contraceptive that works for me. BUT and here’s the big but, to get it I need to have a pap smear in addition to the normal pap I had just a year ago.  The doctor told me that I am required to get a pap smear every 6 months,  to refill birth control prescriptions. Essentially women have to bargain for their birth control. WHAT?  Why am I subject to these unneeded examinations purely that are not in alignment with guidelines. Essentially I need to get these invasive paps to be allowed to get my birth control. This level of gatekeeping of women’s health is incredibly condescending and unnecessary.

On querying this further with my doctor, it turns out the reason doctors ignore guidelines and require these exams is because they think that if women got their birth control refilled automatically that they would not come in for their annual check-ups. What kind of toddlers do doctors think women are? Responsible enough to get their birth control, but not to get our own health checked? This is such a paternalistic view of women it’s hard to believe it still exists in this day and age.  So that we are clear, different countries require pap smears at different times. In the US it is advised every 3-5 years for women under 40 years. I am not saying we should not get our check ups and screenings – women should not need to bargain for birth control.

AT, United States.