Last week thousands of students on campuses across the country voiced their frustration with Members of Congress who are spending their time coming up with pieces of legislation that aim to restrict access to no-copay birth control. As Members of Congress hold hearings with all-male panels that demonstrate their disrespect of young people and women, young people refuse to be silent. Within two weeks you have:

• sent thousands of petitions to Congress
• held press conferences testifying to your experiences
• distributed thousands of condoms and talked to your peers about the importance of birth control and sexual health
• organized hundreds of events on campuses
• and submitted over 1,000 Valentines to Congress, putting a face on the people directly impacted by these dangerous pieces of legislation. (View the Birth Control 4 Us photo album below — you can also view it at www.flic.kr/s/aHsjyJEVWe.)

Today, Sandra Fluke, the young woman who was not allowed to testify at the hearing last week because she “lacked the appropriate credentials” (according to Representative Darrell Issa), shared her powerful story as a law student at Georgetown University, and the stories of many of her peers who will benefit from birth control coverage. After her compelling testimony, Representative Cummings stated, “You as students have made sure that not only Congress is listening, but the entire country is listening.”

After the hearing, we submitted a book of the 1000+ Valentines you collected urging Congress to listen to young people’s voices when it comes to their health care. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Representative Carolyn Maloney, and Representative Elijah Cummings were excited to receive these pictures of young people who are passionate about ensuring our acces to birth control. Thank you again for your incredible activism and making sure your voices are heard!

While the fight is far from over, we know that young people will not back down and will continue to fight for our access to the health care we deserve. To quote Mackenzie Massey, one of our rock star activists — “I am an intelligent young woman and I am perfectly capable of making decisions about my body between me and my doctor. They chose the wrong group to mess with. We will not back down.”