Free birth control benefits all
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By Molly Skyles
Published: Thursday, August 18, 2011
Updated: Thursday, August 18, 2011 17:08
Margaret Sanger founded the American Birth Control League in 1921 to ensure every woman possesses the power and freedom to prevent pregnancy if she chooses. Ninety years later, this country has taken the next imperative step toward Sanger’s goal.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently approved new guidelines requiring health insurance plans to cover the entire cost of preventative services like birth control and voluntary sterilizations. This will take effect Aug. 1, 2012, according to an article on CNN.com.
Before arguments ensue, this column is not encouraging premarital sex. However, we must not be ignorant. No matter how much we pay in taxes toward sex education classes for children as young as kindergartners, intercourse outside of wedlock will occur. But, this new legislation will make the inevitable a little easier to manage.
The rationale behind free birth control is obvious — avoid unwanted pregnancies. In 2006, there were 2 million publicly funded births, 51 percent of which were results of unwanted pregnancies. This alone accounted for $11 billion in costs out of the public’s pocket, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Yes, there will be initial costs for providing these preventative services, but that is chump change compared to the $11 billion that could be saved if more people had feasible access to contraceptives.
While the topic of birth control often leads to a heated religious debate, we must set down our Bibles and look toward the logistics. In 2000, there were an estimated 1.3 million legal abortions performed in the U.S., a number that steadily has grown since Roe v. Wade in 1973, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Free birth control leads to fewer unwanted pregnancies, which leads to fewer abortions. This should be something all people, regardless of religious affiliation, look toward as positive. I don’t think anyone is pro-abortion, just pro-choice. Therefore, this new insurance plan allows for the best of both worlds.
There is more to the battle against birth control besides just the issue of abortion, though. Take the Duggar family from the well-known TLC show “19 Kids and Counting.” Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are fundamentalists who have decided to let God control how many children they have. Have a big family if you so choose, but shouldn’t there be a limit? When your 19th child was born via emergency C- section weighing only 1 lb. and spent the first 6 months of her life on a ventilator due to a life-threatening illness, do you honestly think you’ll get that lucky next time? Michelle Duggar was lucky to survive the birth, much less her daughter.
The Duggar family is a rare case, not because they don’t believe in contraceptives, but because they have the financial stability to afford raising 19 children and the hospital fees that accompany such close calls. Not everyone is that fortunate. That’s why every woman deserves to be on birth control if she chooses, despite financial limitations.
Yes, there are “natural” ways to avoid unwanted pregnancies. My high school religion teachers made sure I was well aware of this fact. Practices such as natural family planning — where a woman refrains from intercourse while ovulating — exist, but they rarely are reliable. The only true way to avoid an unwanted pregnancy is abstinence. It’s easy to say that to a teenager, but what about a married woman? She already has four kids and is living below the poverty line. She can’t afford to raise another child, much less afford to be on birth control. Is she supposed to just give up sex with her husband?
It doesn’t seem fair. Lucky for women, someone else decided it wasn’t right either, and a year from now, the size of your pocketbook won’t inhibit your sex life.
Molly Skyles is a senior communication major from St. Louis, Mo.
http://www.trumanindex.com/free-birth-control-benefits-all-1.2548944
