Providing birth control to women at no cost substantially reduced unplanned pregnancies and cut abortion rates by 62 percent to 78 percent over the national rate, a new study shows. The research, by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, appears online Oct. 4 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Among a range of birth control methods offered in the study, most women chose long-acting methods like intrauterine devices (IUDs) or implants, which have lower failure rates than commonly used birth control pills. In the United States, IUDs and implants have high up-front costs that sometimes aren't covered by health insurance, making these methods unaffordable for many women.
"The impact of providing no-cost birth control was far greater than we expected in terms of unintended pregnancies," says lead author Jeff Peipert, MD, PhD, the Robert J. Terry Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "We think improving access to birth control, particularly IUDs and implants, coupled with education on the most effective methods has the potential to significantly decrease the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions in this country."
Gee this is what Planned Parenthood has been saying for decades.
If pro-life advocates REALLY cared about reducing abortions they would stop vilifying women and their doctors, and instead throw all of their resources behind better education for young women and better access to contraception.
But of course they won't, because that would necessitate using intelligence instead of reacting in an emotional and ridiculous way to a problem that they can then use as a political wedge issue.
I think we should spread this information far and wide, with the headline "President Obama: The REAL Anti-Abortion candidate!"
The right will stand saying abstinence is free and they are against paying for women to have all that sex. I have not heard them campaign for men to wear condems they purchase, to get over men disliking condoms nor crusade against dead beat dads either nor address male irresponsibility who want their baby aborted.
ReplyDeleteWho does the right pile up on females only? Maybe it is all the porn they watch sending sick messages?
And you can bet their Viagra is still "free" in every policy there is.
DeleteViagra is not free. We have top of the line medical care and each pill is $10.
DeleteLooks like it's not quite top of the line.... 6 pills with a $20 co pay.
DeleteYou think there's some sort of limit to stupid? Birth control is just a very early abortion so we're agin' that, too.
ReplyDeleteThey need to wake up and realize that "abortion" is when the egg is actually fertilized, producing a baby. Birth control prevents the egg from being fertilized, therefore no baby to abort.
DeleteArdiva, shhhhhh? They don't know biology! LOL! In 2008 when I first starting blogging b/c of Stupid Palin I wondered why...all the con men would say all "liberal woman" have 200+ abortions! I couldn't figure out where they got that, like out their ass or whatnot but when the Pitts-stupak was being argued it was clear they have not a Fucking clue, even their so called "Dr.s" call birth control abortion!!! Unfucking real! And that fucktard who said a woman's body would "shut down in cases of rape"WTF?
DeleteThis is what a DUMBED down society who doesn't watch science things on PBS looks like.
They are CLUELESS! Our Nation is fast becoming the Nation of stupid.
The thing is, they say they're against abortion because of teh baybeez, but when you talk with them, and you say, "Birth control reduces the need for abortion," they say if you read the teensy fine print on a packet insert that the oral contraceptive "can cause abortions," so they're against that. They view all forms of contraception (except condoms) as the same as abortion since a fertilized egg might be lost. When you say, "What do you expect women to do" they say, "If they don't want to get pregnant, they shouldn't spread their legs." It usually takes three exchanges of comments before they admit, that way, that the problem is that they don't like women having sex without being punished by pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteAnd they don't worry about condoms because those protect the mens against icky diseases from those slutty women.
The problem with abortion and birth control has never been that they really think babies are being killed. It's always been a desperate attempt to keep women from acting autonomously.
Seriously: if they were opposed to abortion, the sensible thing is to ask, "where to people have few abortions, and what are they doing, and can we make that work in the U.S.?" They don't. They are never about the babies. They're always about punishing women.
Ivyfree
Exactly!
DeleteThis is why we have all these sudden pushes to allow employers to deny birth control coverage as part of insurance plans -- due to the employers' 'religious beliefs.' What does an employers' religion have to do with a woman taking control of her health and reproduction? Why nothing of course, but I guess it makes them feel superior to those 'skanky' women.
It's amazing to me that so many in this country are okay with women being taxed (yep, I said it, TAXED) over and above their already expensive health insurance costs to pay for hormonal birth control, which can only be obtained by prescription! Some forms of birth control can run hundreds of dollars a year.
I guarantee that if a woman ends up pregnant, not one of these oh so religious employers will give her a dollar more in pay to help care for that child.
Sorry everybody, but it's the crazy white man that wants abortion and birth control stopped. Statistics show that the largest percentage of abortions and birth control users are white women. The crazy white man thinks he can increase the disparity between whites and everybody else if he can "keep those white babies coming". Sounds crazy?? Think about it.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. As soon as it became apparent that within our lifetimes whites would become a minority in America, the hatred of immigrants and the push to force women to carry babies was intensified. As if ending contraception will somehow ensure that only white babies are born? These men think with their loins, and are not very smart to begin with. Hate to tell you guys, but God is not white. Or black or purple. And Jesus was most likely dark-skinned too. So maybe God prefers people of color after all? He sure isn't crazy about the hatred of the rich white male toward everyone else, and I;d guess He's not real impressed with the GOP either, no matter how many crazy history movies the Gingrichs and the Huckabees produce for the insane.
DeleteThe crazy white man has always been about controlling women ever since they (somehow) got control. But wise women have always been able to drink teas, to bring the curse on, etc.
DeleteThat's why they burned the witches and this is like the burning times all over again.
But old fucktard white men are dying out...
they are becoming a endangered species which is why all these bastards keep breeding retards!
I am a proud, sexually open, bisexual woman. And I use the BC shot. Since you can only use it for two years, when my two years are up, I'm switching to IUD.
ReplyDeleteI have been dating my current boyfriend for two years, and I know that, without a doubt, I will be spending the rest of my life with him. I might even marry him, in an absolutely amazing secular wedding on the beach, and will be married by my gay twin brother who, as a joke, became ordained online at the life universal church or whatever it's called.
And even still, I'll be on birth control. I'm 26. I don't KNOW if I want to have babies or not. I have a lot of generic conditions I'm not entirely sure I want to pass down. Does this make me a bad person? Should I be shamed by church folk that I don't want another person to have to deal with my hereditary liver disorder? My families rich history of mental disorders, cancer, auto immune diseases and life long battles with SEVERE insomnia that doctors are not even sure how to handle since medication doesn't work?
Fuck no, and fuck you. I HAVE been pregnant before. And at 22 weeks ( close to FIVE MONTHS ) I had a late term abortion. The fetus was not viable, and I was given a choice. Have the abortion, or wait until I went into labor, and have birth to a severely deformed, underweight, and quite possibly dead child.
And guess what? I was using condoms at that point in my life. And condoms break.
I'm proud of my sexuality. I'm proud of my sex drive, and neither you or a church or anyone for that matter can tell me to shut my legs and shut the hell up.
Birth control is the bees knees kids. So keep that sex drive healthy, do what you love, and DAMN all those sexually repressed people who will damn you to hell.
Big Bird Doesn't Stand A Chance Against Mitt Romney
ReplyDeletehttp://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/big-bird-doesnt-stand-chance-against-mitt-r
The Obama Administration uncovered $430 million in Medicare fraud in a single bust yesterday
ReplyDelete...Ninety-one people including doctors, nurses and other medical professionals were charged criminally after an investigation of Medicare fraud that involved $430 million in false billing in seven cities, officials said on Thursday.
It was the government’s second big raid in recent months after a similar investigation in May involving $452 million in possible fraud in Medicare, the health program for the elderly and disabled.
The accusations include billing the government for unnecessary ambulance rides in California, writing prescriptions for patients in Dallas who did not qualify for them and paying kickbacks like food and cigarettes to patients in Houston if they attended programs for which a hospital could bill.
The investigation is part of an effort by the Obama administration to find health care savings.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/06/1140932/-The-Obama-Administration-uncovered-430-million-in-Medicare-fraud-in-a-single-bust-yesterday
And this will never get a mention on Fox. Not one word will be spoken unless the recipients are black or the doctors are.
DeleteIt's the Law ...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbdTMK66tq4&feature=player_embedded
I'm just so sick of these so called right to lifers. I always say since I moved to the south I have never met so many immoral people who pretend they are so rightous and go to church 2 times on Sunday and Wed. We can't afford to have every pregnancy go to term. Stupids don't even listen to these creeps. One said kill the parents and adopt all the children out. I guess the Corp will put all the children to work in work camps like China that romany thinks is so great
ReplyDeleteOh, no, Gryphen. We all know it's because Bristol is such a terrific advocate for abstinence.
ReplyDeleteOoops, I just rolled my eyes completely out of their sockets.
I so dislike Mitt Romney! How many times has he tried to remake himself in the past months? He lies and lies and lies. And, he has changed what he has said about what he'll do 'if' elected time and time again.
ReplyDeleteHate to say it, but he is a typical Mormon man! They are brought up to lie and have absolutely no remorse in doing so. I've known some both personally and in the work force. Trust me - stay away from them!
Plus, I thought him very disrespectful in the debate - to President Obama and to the moderator. He did NOT follow the rules. Romney was NOT the winner of the debate - he lied throughout it (has been proven!) and was a bully! How does that make you a winner for crying out loud?
Look, here's the real agenda. White people want white people to have babies - hence no abortion. They know that "colored" people have these secret abortion sites (known as back alley's) where they will continue to get abortions and either "kill" the fetus or kill themselves or infect themselves and become sterile. Taking away abortion clinics will reduce the number of white abortions. Once that is established the white race will have a high birth rate and they can maintain their dominance over the other races. It's really simple for them. Of course they are wrong and misguided. But that's their truth.
ReplyDeleteDepressing news for Republicans.....
ReplyDeletehttp://theobamadiary.com/2012/10/06/depressing-news-for-republicans/
I think we should spread this information far and wide, with the headline "President Obama: The REAL Anti-Abortion candidate!
ReplyDeleteI'm on it, Chief!
An animated short about the big choice in 2012's presidential election
ReplyDelete- by Simpsons / Family Guy animator Lucas Gray
- also available at http://whyobamanow.org/
Why Obama Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9G8XREyG0Q&feature=colike
Check this out Gryphen. Great job!
ReplyDeletehttp://whyobamanow.org/index.html
The problem is much of the money behind the so called prolife movement has nothing to do with abortion. It is to put women back in their place by limiting their choices in life.
ReplyDeleteThe right to lifers are staging a praying mantis
ReplyDeletedemonstration in front of the Planned Parenthood on
Lake Otis. Please consider making a small donation
to support PP - you can designate that the donation
go directly to the PP of the Great Northwest..
for the many women they help, I thank you.
https://secure.ppaction.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=pp_ppol_Directed_DonationFormOneTimeGift
I volenteer at my local PPs as an escort for women who are going in for abortions. I'm a shoulder to cry on, a ride to and from the clinic, and a human shield from protesters.
DeleteThe protesters know my face and quiver in fear.
Praying mantis? That is a bug?
DeleteWhat assholes!
Chella,
What a wonderful service you do! Goddess bless you!♥
LOL!
DeletePraying Mantis demonstration! It's a Kung Fu move
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNNIhU8Q-3g
Is this a joke, or are they serious?
And yes, Chella, you rock!
They they want to control and choose how birth control lowers the abortion rate.
ReplyDeleteAnd their choice is abstinence. They want to control women by simply saying NO SEX FOR ANYONE.
Unless you're married. Then if you get pregnant, too bad. Marriage is having children and sex is for procreation. If you don't want children then NO SEX FOR YOU!
You just watch what happens when these statistics hit the media.
The conservatives like to deny that humans are sexual by nature...we are all born that way. Sorry, Christian conservative rabid, right-wingers. You get horny too!
ReplyDeleteEvolution has brought us to this. Practice abstinence? Yeah, in your dreams.
Why is there so much rampant sexual abuse in the Catholic Church? Denying priests the right to marry and have normal sexual lives increases the likelihood they will find their release in innocent young boys.
Get over, conservatives. Sex is natural. The result of sex is obviously offspring. Birth control should be readily available, and I believe extremely cheap or even free. We are all human. We all have sex. Quit denying it. Birth control methods and sexual education should be taught early and often!
Just a fellow human being...
The GOP stepped in a big pile of shit by taking on the Anti Birth Control platform. This post proves the cost is well worth it if it prevents one unplanned pregnancy and lowers the abortion rate.
ReplyDeleteThey think that by providing birth control, it's equal to saying it's ok to have sex or be promiscuous. Hello - who are women having sex with and being promiscuous with? Other men and women.
And I wonder what correlation there is between providing Viagra and unwanted pregnancy, rape, abortion and transmission of std's?
But birth control isn't the issue, it's controlling women by denying birth control coverage. If a man's fertility directly affected his career, health, life and education choices, there would be no problem at all with providing coverage.
This is why I'm for sex education, planned parenthood and the affordable care act.
A little knowledge goes a long way.
Folks, please don't use any form of the terms "pro-life" or "right to life" when talking about the fanatics who are against abortion.
ReplyDeleteBy using their labels, you spread their propaganda and, by extension, imply that if you're pro-choice, then you are automatically against life.
Words are powerful tools. We should not let the anti-choice crowd define the situation by using their terminology. It's just giving them aid and comfort.
If reducing the number of abortions was the ultimate objective for abortion objectors, prevention should be their only strategy. The fair price health care act addresses this better than any previous policy this country has impimented.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans will not repeal Roe v. Wade because there could be no logical reason left for a Christian to vote in their favor. When there was a Rep. House, Senate and Pres in the 80s after the party adopted the stance, nothing was done when it could have been. That said, a repeal would not even likely reduce abortions. Regardless, the most effective way to reduce, is to prevent.
My question is, if I know this, I'm sure that the church does as well. How can a church or Christian for that matter take a stance that supports a party that has no intent of reducing abortions and promotes polices in direct conflict to its social agenda?
Since Roe v Wade abortions, a totally voluntary act of a women's free choice resulting from the exercise of that women's free choice to have sex, have murdered more innocent babies then all human deaths from all wars America has ever fought in combined, all deaths related to cancer, all deaths related to auto accidents, all deaths related to AIDs, all deaths related to violent criminal acts, all deaths related to environmental accidents, all deaths directly attributed to cigarette smoking, and all deaths related to accidental gun shootings.
ReplyDeleteLess than 1000 of 1% of abortions are related to saving the life of the woman or as a result of a reported rape.
How sad that women had degraded themselves to such a low position that they choose to kill their own babies. Animals only do this in the rarest of cases. Women is America do it for convenience.