I attended university in the UK, and I went on birth control there for the first time. The process was easy: I walked into a local clinic without an appointment, met a doctor who was friendly, direct, and honest with me about my options, had a check-up, decided with her what the best choice for me was, and walked down to the pharmacy the same day to pick up my birth control. This whole process, including my prescription, was free.

When I returned to the United States, I needed birth control, and I was not expecting the process to be so hard or costly. I made an appointment at a clinic, arrived on time for my appointment and still had to wait for about 30 minutes. The provider met me and seemed judgmental, asking me if I was sure I needed birth control. I felt sure I wanted to protect myself from unwanted pregnancies. We had a long and involved check-up and she said that I would have to come back for a second appointment to get a prescription. I did so. I went to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription and had to wait there for another 30-40 minutes while they tried to settle something with my health insurance. They had incorrectly typed by birthday in my health insurance information, and I had to go through a long process to prove that I was myself and the mistake was theirs. It was finally figured out. I paid and left with my prescription.

The cost was $80 for the prescription plus the cost of two office visits to the doctor.  Someday, I wish that American women will have as much freedom, choice, and ease of access to birth control and health care as I experienced in the UK.