After the Supreme Court announced that they will hear a challenge to the HHS Contraception Mandate, the White House put out a statement saying that the mandate is “essential” to a woman’s health. While the word “essential” is defined as being “a thing that is necessary” – meaning that the White House is literally claiming that women cannot be healthy without mandated contraception coverage, here are 10 women who accomplished great things without the government mandating that their employers pay for contraception.
1. Marie Curie
The first woman to win a Nobel Prize; also discovered polonium and radium.
2. Susan B. Anthony
Noted suffragette and early crusader for women’s rights; her picture also graced the dollar coin from 1979-1981.
3. Joan of Arc
As a young teen, she defeated the English army in battle before being executed for, among other things, refusing to change out of pants while as a prisoner of war.
4. Dolley Madison
The wife of President James Madison is noted for defining the role of the First Lady, and saved a portrait of George Washington from a burning White House.
5. Amelia Earhart
The first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean; she disappeared attempting to fly around the world.
6. Rosa Parks
Jump-started the Civil Rights movement and the Montgomery bus boycott.
7. Florence Nightingale
Nightingale is considered to be the creator of the modern nursing profession.
8. Sandra Day O’Connor
The first female justice appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
9. Margaret Chase Smith
Smith was the first woman to serve in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
10. Sarah Palin
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First female governor of Alaska and first female Republican vice presidential nominee.
Somehow, against the seemingly-insurmountable odds against them, these women were able to accomplish great things without their employers being mandated to provide them with free birth control.