When we think of reproductive rights, we think of the rights of women being left in their own hands, like it’s their body and their choice what happens to it. However, one important stepping stone to maintaining full reproductive rights isn’t just the laws dictating what medical professionals can do – but the attitudes of the doctors, nurses and pharmacists themselves. It's not just a matter of feeling nervous as you approach a pharmicist's counter full of coughing and wheezing OAPs, having to whisper 'Levonelle' to a complete stranger who now knows a fair bit about what you did last night, it's a matter of getting full-on judgment from that person.
Which brings us to this fascinating Reddit thread where women are sharing their experiences of doctors trying to make themfeel like crap for being sexually active and – woah – taking responsibility for their own bodies.
An original poster explained the judgment she was dealt by a pharmacist for buying the morning after pill after her two forms of contraception failed: ‘She said to me: “Oh, that's disappointing. Girls like you should really be smarter with these sorts of decisions.”’
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Some people suggested that she complain to the pharmacist’s manager, as the company shouldn’t be able to refuse emergency contraception, or Plan B as it’s known in America.
Then other women chimed in with their own stories of being made to feel grim about their sexual agency. One was told, aged 17: 'If your old enough to know about the pill, then you should be old enough to know where the condoms are.[sic]’
Another said that ‘a pharmacist gave me major attitude for wanting to fill a few months of my birth control prescription at once before going out of the country. She rolled her eyes at me and treated me like a junkie trying to scam extra pain meds.’
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We can thoroughly recommend reading the page for more stories of this stuck-up reluctance to get that women aren’t just baby-machines.
Though there are so many speaking about their positive experiences at pharmacists, it doesn’t exactly counter the terrible times women have unfortunately had to experience while simply trying their best to not get pregnant when they don’t want to. As debates in America fire up about women’s reproductive rights ahead of the November mid-term elections, it’s worth noting that there are real women out there who have to deal with the consequences of people not believing in their rights, regardless of the law, and that these aren’t imaginary wombs being fought over.
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Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.