Why should birth control be free? I think the better question is why shouldn’t birth control be free? Come on, America. We can’t have it both ways. There are Americans that don’t want their taxes to pay for other people’s babies through state or government funding and at the same time they don’t support abortions or places that provide abortions. The foster system is deeply flawed and is already home to way too many children who are also lacking proper care, love, and safety. We already know that abstinence-based sex education is a dud. So why do we refuse to help women of all ages protect themselves from unwanted and/or unplanned pregnancy?
Let’s look at the facts.
First, condoms are 98%* effective at preventing pregnancy.
Did you notice the asterisk? Because I did.
Yikes! So, what if people don’t use them perfectly every single time they have sex? (Which let’s be honest. Most people make mistakes and accidents happen and we probably shouldn’t assume we’re perfect.) Well, that number drops to 85% (1). For many people, that 85% is not enough. That means there’s a 15% chance of pregnancy despite having used protection.
Many birth control options are highly effective and there are quite a few to choose from. Let’s take the IUD for example. Alone, the IUD is 99% effective. Imagine combining that with a condom! Of course, no method is 100% but the higher the percent, the better. (And we do want to be sure we’re using condoms for back up pregnancy protection as well as because they are the only way to protect against STIs!)
Now, think about this. Women from low-income families have a disproportionately more difficult time with access to healthcare and birth control. Low-income women are also more likely to have more children than middle- or upper-class families (2). Low-income families are more likely to need government assistance to survive. But there have also been studies that show accessible healthcare and birth control reduces the rate of unplanned pregnancy as well as abortion (3).
Let’s also consider that according to bedsider.org Medicaid covers around 41% of births costing around $10,000 minimum for a complication free, natural delivery. Medicaid can cover birth control for one person for one year at the price of around $250.
Free birth control = less unplanned pregnancy, less abortion, less assistance, less stress.
You do the math.
Yes, I completely agree with you in today world there are many cases involved with unsuspected pregnancy. Many people do not know any sex educational and because it causes issues for their partner. Sex education is one big factor today’s Young males and females are not being taught about any form of sex information. “Overall, in 2011–2013, 43% of adolescent females and 57% of adolescent males did not receive information about birth control before they had sex for the first time”. This goes to show many people are being taught the right things to do and are going out to the world with none of this education and having them to rely on pills and other factors to help them from doing something they can’t fix later. I hope in the future that people will be taught about these types of topics so they understand that it is not a joke and can be very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog and I absolutely agree! Giving women free birth control will prevent unplanned pregnancies and decrease the numbers of abortions. Unfortunately, women get pregnant in horrific events such as rape and if a woman is on birth control it can possibly prevent the pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point in the beginning of your blog about the foster care system. There are many kids who are in the foster care system lacking love, care and safety. Childrensrights.org states that in 2017 there were nearly 443,000 children in foster care and has possibly increased since the past 2 years. I believe free birth control could decrease these numbers drastically.
I could not see a downfall in giving women free birth control. Those who want it could get it and those who choose not to get it could pass on it. This would be beneficial for women of all incomes and ages. I really hope to see this take place in the future and free health care as well!!