Lena Dunham Sparks Birth-Control Discussion on Twitter

Photo by Theo Warger/NBC/Getty Images

“Girls” creator and star Lena Dunham, in case you didn’t know, is a huge advocate for birth-control access — the clear message in the powerful discussion she jumpstarted on Twitter Tuesday night. “I need birth control because I have endometriosis and it helps manage pain,” she wrote. “Why do you?”

Dunham has been posting bright responses to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent “Hobby Lobby” ruling, which allows employers to deny birth-control coverage to employees, for weeks now. Just before posing her question, in fact, she posted this: “5 things every woman (scratch that, every person!) needs to know about birth control,” with a link to Planned Parenthood’s tips about how to talk to your boss in light of the ruling. But the “Why do you?” post inspired a flood of responses, covering reasons from medical issues to simply not being ready to have a baby:

Dunham has formed a special partnership with Planned Parenthood for her upcoming, mostly sold-out book tour — a way to “learn more about organizations close to Lena’s heart.”

But her fans already get it, clearly. Other great Twitter answers included “Because women have the right to enjoy sex without the confines and fear of a unplanned pregnancy, just as men do,” and “Because I want every girl I ever love to feel safe with every guy they ever love,” all of which pleased the writer-actor-director greatly. “Love hearing all your reasons for using birth control. And guess what? You don’t need a reason,” she tweeted, before calling her discussion participants “brave women and sensitive men” and signing off, “Thank you, love you, night.”