I was both relieved and more conscious than ever that in so many places around the world, birth control is treated as a privilege, not a right — and that the stories of untold numbers of people with female bodies diverge drastically from mine. A friend of mine in Burundi — who grew up there and is two days younger than me — never got the pill and never got an IUD. She studied hard and hoped to maybe get a business degree. But the year after I left the country, she had an unplanned pregnancy and then a baby, with a man who has since disappeared. She returned to school briefly before mounting insecurity pushed her out; the violence in Burundi is the worst the country has seen since the end of its 12-year civil war in 2005. My friend's life — without school and with a one-year-old at home — is not unfolding as she planned.In Burundi and elsewhere, her story is familiar. Of family planning needs around the world, 78% are unmet, despite the fact that women with access to birth control live longer and healthier lives than women without. The same holds true for the children of these women.

Women with access to birth control also make 40% more money than women without, which leads to smaller, healthier, wealthier families and communities worldwide. I thank birth control not only for the gains it has provided women — myself included — and communities, but for the immeasurable heartbreak, sickness, and death it has helped us avoid. Every single woman on this planet, without exception, must have the education, autonomy, and healthcare access to determine whether and when she bears children. This issue is not “external” to anyone.