Free Contraceptives!
We live in a society where women have better access to resources we didn't have before. We have more say and choices with what we choose to do. President Trump wants to pass laws to defund programs like Planned Parenthood and raise the cost of contraceptives making it harder for some women to purchase. After Obama care was passed the department of health and human resources came to a conclusion that there were 8 different preventative services that were needed for a women's overall health. Access to every FDA-approved method of birth control that can be prescribed by a health-care provider, including emergency contraception.
If this is something that gets taken away we might just end up spending twice the amount of money on unplanned pregnancies which are still very common. Just alone in 2011, 45% of the pregnancies that happened that year were said to be unintended. 42 percent of unintended pregnancies ended in abortion and 58 percent ended in birth. In 2010, 51 percent of the nearly 4 million births in the United States were paid for by government health insurance like Medicaid. Overall, the government spent $21 billion on unintended pregnancies that year!
Contraceptives are not only good for preventing pregnancies but can help women lower their risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers which as we all know any type of cancer is very expensive to treat.
Since Trump has stepped into office his followers about this particular topic including women have agreed with him that it's been costing us a lot of money but to myself, the numbers and statistic tell it all. We as a country need to take a step back and really acknowledge how much more money we spend on other things that have brought us no good. I rather pay the lower cost now then deal with a much bigger problem later.
I think you have made a compelling argument for the benefits of effective and readily available contraceptives. Trump's plans to defund organizations like Planned Parenthood seem like a horrible move based on the evidence you given. I think your arguments are especially effective because they are based on objective facts and empirical data. I also think your editorial will help convince people who are more inclined to base their political opinions on economics that supporting organizations like Planned Parenthood is the best move for the country as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThe student mentions that contraceptives should be without charge due to the statistics our country has faced from unplanned pregnancies. I have to agree, contraception is a preventative health care that saves both lives and money. Most of the public assumes that contraceptives are only used to prevent pregnancies among irresponsible women, but this is not completely accurate. It is also used to treat or prevent various health conditions including ovarian cysts, endometriosis, abnormal bleeding anemia, regulation of menstrual cycle, etc.
ReplyDeleteContraceptives not only reduce health concerns but unintended pregnancies as well, which overall saves the U.S. money. Depending on the approach, birth control can cost up to over $1000. According to the Institute of Medicine, the medical cost in 2002 for unintended pregnancies within the U.S. was approximately $5 billion. Though this number seems to be high, contraceptives saved an estimated $19.3 billion within the same year. Investing in contraceptives will lower our national spendings along with other benefits.
When contraception availability decreases, abortion rates increase. Almost half of all pregnancies in the U.S. were unplanned as of 2006 and of those, 46% ended in abortion. Among the women who engaged in sexual activities while using contraceptives, only 5% became pregnant. Studies have shown that effective birth control concludes with major decreases in unplanned pregnancies/ abortions. Back to the student’s article, I entirely agree that investing government funds for contraceptives would provide relief for individual women and families as well as on a national level...a.k.a abortion levels and budgeting.
Personally, I was amazed reading the statistics the student included. It is hard to accept the percentages studied on top of the benefits contraceptives have to offer, but yet the government wants to do without. I completely agree with the article, that it is better to pay “the lower cost now then deal with a much bigger problem later.” This is why investing in contraceptives should be considered on a national level, so that we can save not only financially, but health related risks as well.