There's a lot of talk about freedom, but freedom over your own body, freedom over your own sexual health and freedom over somebody else telling you what you should or should not do with your body is perhaps one of the most fundamental freedoms we could talk about. Making sure that every women everywhere in this country has the access, under their own recognizance, to be able to get the reproductive medicines they need in order to take charge of their futures and make decisions over their own bodies is not only an essential matter of medicine; it's also an essential matter of social justice.
I think in this country it is terrible that there is still so much stigma and shame around sex. The fact that we can't talk about our penises and vaginas the same way we talk about our elbows and knees is terrible. What does that lead to? When you don't have appropriate health information, just like when you don't have enough financial information, you're going to get taken advantage of. It means that you're more likely to face sexual violence. It means that you're more likely to be sexually manipulated.
Sexual shame is at the core of so many mental health maladies. How many young people have we lost because they're confused or worried about whether they are normal or okay? You are normal. You are okay. You should have autonomy and freedom over your own body. We have to end the shame and stigma that is imposed upon people with disastrous effects on their health.