Emma Rinehart’s column attempting to dismiss the Republican “War on Women” as a myth was disheartening. While she deserves credit for citing previous Republican equality efforts, she neglects the past two years of legislative attacks on women at both the state and federal level. Troubling also is her dismissal of the role reproductive health plays in equal treatment of American women. This deserves more credit than it was given.

Are women and contraception synonymous? If you want an answer, ask the 99 percent of women who have used some form of contraception in their lifetimes. Nearly all forms of birth control provide medical benefits beyond contraception, benefits uniquely exclusive to women. Hence the association between a woman, her health and her birth control.

The benefits of birth control are not limited to preventing unintended pregnancies. In 1950, the birth control pill was marketed not as a contraceptive, but as a method to regulate menstruation. Numerous studies over decades have shown that birth control can reduce the risks of ovarian, uterine and bowel cancers as well as increase life expectancy. Use of hormonal birth control has also been known to relieve symptoms of both primary and secondary dysmenorrhea.

No one wants to reduce women’s issues to being only about contraception. However, the important role of reproductive health in a woman’s everyday life cannot be ignored. The freedom to prevent unintended pregnancy and control her own health decisions is an integral part of a woman’s independence. Ensuring a woman has the ability to plan for her own family affords her the opportunity to pursue academic and professional goals on her own terms. Attempts to take that away, is indeed, a War on Women.