Possible Controversial Topic!

I titled this post as potentially controversial, because if any of my devout Catholic friends stumble across it, they may disagree and argue with me.

I am getting really tired of many of my friends posting on facebook about the political controversy over birth control.  I understand that many of them are just following what they believe, and what the church teaches.  Before I started fertility treatments and even through my early treatments, I was against myself taking the pill.  It wasn't because I was against the pill all together.  I just have other medical problems that make me feel like crap when I take the pill.  So the pill was never a long term option for birth control for me (not that I need it at this point.)  I understand and agree with the Catholic church throwing a fit over the idea that they would have to start handing out birth control.  I think that is just as wrong as asking the Catholic church to marry a gay couple.  Don't start yelling at me yet.  I am not anti-gay...quite to the contrary.  I am very pro gay equality/rights.  I would love to see gay marriage legalized in all states.  I just think that it is wrong for the government to force a religious group to blatantly go against what it teaches.  There are plenty of other churches and courthouses that will marry a gay couple.  That being said, I think that it was wrong to try to force the Catholic church to hand out birth control...I do not however think that it is wrong to require the health insurance that the church provides for it's employees, to cover birth control pills.  It is an individual decision for each person.  There are other reasons though why I fully support this requirement.  Birth control pills are pretty much just a bunch of hormones.  Women take hormone pills throughout life for various reasons.  They are not only used as a contraception.  They also are used during fertility treatments to regulate a woman's cycle, or to get rid of a cyst on an ovary. 

There are many other benefits of using BCPs, including being used as a treatment for endometriosis.  It is one of only a few noninvasive treatments that have been shown to help endo.  This being Endometriosis awareness month and being that I have endo, makes me feel like I need to speak up about this.  Medical care is so expensive, and medications sometimes can break the bank.  I am blessed enough that my endo has not caused severe pain all the time.  I can't imagine living a life of constant pain and not being able to afford the BCP's that would potentially lessen my pain.  What my many Catholic friends don't realize is that BCPs are not just a contraception, they can also be used as a medical treatment. 

I know what my friends would say to me to argue, but those same friends would never understand why I have turned to IVF to have a baby.  I am pretty open about my infertility, but there are some friends that I just don't talk about it with.  I know how cruel they would be.  I know that they wouldn't mean to be cruel.  They really are only looking out for my soul.  They are really kind hearted people, they are just so strict in their beliefs that they would try to get me to see the "error of my ways."  Plus it goes along with all the other insensitive comments that people make to infertiles.  They just don't get it, unless they have to walk in your shoes.