Britney Spears’ IUD Experience Should Be a Wake-Up as to What Mentally Ill Women Deal With

As an adult, you have total control over what you want to do with your body.

But with Britney Spears, this is different.

Her conservatorship — a legal arrangement for individuals who cannot make their own decisions — has taken an immense toll on her. As a grown woman thriving her career as a pop star, she has no authority over what she feels is suitable.

Britney Spears got into a conservatorship in 2008 after a noticeable public struggle with her mental health. The court rendered her unfit to make any life decisions. The authority was then handed over to a lawyer and her father. Something that was meant to be temporary until she became stable became permanent.

Being under her father’s authority makes her helpless.

All she has to do is work for more money. After an ongoing #FreeBritney campaign movement, the star came out to make a public statement that people were anticipating. She openly asked the Los Angeles Superior Court to terminate her conservatorship.

The details of her speech were heartbreaking. In her breathtaking 24-minute statement, Britney revealed that she was forced to work for long hours, pay vast sums of money for a rehab program she didn’t need, take lithium despite making her feel “drunk,” hold performances when on tours, and worst of it all, declined the freedom to remove her IUD.

Sadly, this isn't unique to the pop star. Most marginalized people are denied authority over their bodies.

In my experience as a therapist, a pattern I've seen is people who are responsible for making their decisions want to own them fully. When talking about reproductive health, our scope should be beyond abortions. Procuring an abortion is just a drop in the ocean. An individual should also have the right to decide when they want a baby or more babies.

Britney says she has been forced to keep the IUD in so that she doesn’t get pregnant. When she wanted to have it removed, the team overseeing her conservatorship wouldn’t hear any of it. Holding someone hostage to a birth control method is inhumane and demoralizing. Being mentally ill does not mean one's reproductive system is faulty.

Mental illness ranges from mild to severe. In mild cases, the woman can be allowed to have children if she wants to. However, she should also be advised on the different contraceptive options to avoid getting unwanted pregnancies. To ensure effective parenting, she should stay with someone that will ensure everything is in check. Staying alone might sometimes be overwhelming and brings about a mental overhaul.

There are so many ideas about what women can and can’t do with their bodies.

For a neurodiverse woman, the experience is even worse. Unless you maintain your stand, people can toy around with you. Every woman will react differently to each contraceptive. When one isn’t working, you must always be at liberty to try something else.

For neurodiverse women, who aren't even under a conservatorship, the case is different. First, the doctor will think you are rebellious. An IUD, for instance, can be painful and uncomfortable at first. You might want to remove it any time when it doesn’t get better. The truth is if the process is being controlled by someone else, your body is being violated.

Medical practitioners will always strive to have a contraceptive in a neurodiverse woman’s body.

Any time you want it removed, it is close to impossible. When the side effects are intense, they suggest treating the symptoms rather than removing the issue. It’s most likely because they don’t want you bringing forth another life if you already have a baby. If you have no baby, that’s a relief to them as they will always work to keep you, as a neurodiverse woman, childless.

During a counseling session with a fellow neurodiverse woman who didn't have a child yet, she complained of having an implant since she started her periods. After a few years, she felt like she was ready to have a child because the implant had also started having some effects on her like massive weight gain and irregular periods.

When she explained this to her doctor, the doctor advised her to start hitting the gym to manage the weight — yet she wanted the contraceptive removed. The doctor further advised her to go back before the expiry date so they could try something else. The lady got depressed since she couldn't do anything about it.

Whether you want a child or no children, it should be your own choice. As a neurodiverse woman who isn't severely affected, you can make sound decisions on your own.

Women with mental health conditions should have control over their reproductive health.

The idea of some women being less worthy than others to have children should be stamped out. Some women with severe mental health conditions undergo sterilizations. This typically happens if a woman is severely affected by her mental illness, and truthfully, then there would be no need of letting them have any kids. But in cases where they know what they want, they shouldn't be discriminated against about having children.

According to Leigh Senderowicz, a social demographer who studies reproductive coercion at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, reproductive coercion has existed in the United States for a long time. She said the legal and medical systems have merged to control the reproductive choices of women to have children, including disabled women, women of color, and mentally ill women.

In the 1960s, many mentally ill and Black women underwent sterilizations without their knowledge. Senderowicz also said there have been recent claims of forced sterilizations along the US-Mexico border by Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities.

For women who do not have Spears’ status, their stories might remain unheard. They will remain trapped in these situations with zero control of their bodies.

We hope Britney Spears’ story is a turning point for all mentally ill women.