Will Americans OK Free Contraception?
November 1, 2010 No Comments
Should contraception be free? A group of American experts is meeting in November to determine whether it could be covered under the healthcare bill as preventative care.
“There is clear and incontrovertible evidence that family planning saves lives and improves health,” said obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. David Grimes, an international family planning expert.
“Contraception rivals immunization in dollars saved for every dollar invested. Spacing out children allows for optimal pregnancies and optimal child rearing. Contraception is a prototype of preventive medicine.”
Many conservative and religious leaders oppose the move. Some are arguing that a baby is not an illness while others are concerned that the morning after pill will be included in the plan — a treatment that many confuse with abortion.
While birth control use is ”virtually universal” in the US, according to a study released this summer, about half of all pregnancies are still unplanned.
Including contraceptions in the health care plan could help reduce some of those pregnancies, many of which are caused by “inconsistent or incorrect use” of the birth control method. There are options that require an expensive initial output, but then are low-cost or free for the remainder of their use.
For example, IUDs cannot be used incorrectly and offer 99.9% protection. However, they are $500. They do last for five years, which makes them cheaper than many brands of the pill.
The government’s decision should be based on what is practical for the country. The cost to taxpayers of unplanned pregnancies is significantly higher than the cost of birth control would be. It is always bad business to try and legislate morality.
