Universal access to contraception could be a life saver

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In 1999 the CDC declared family planning one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century. It said, "Smaller families and longer birth intervals have contributed to the better health of infants, children, and women, and have improved the social and economic role of women."

He points out that we have the highest teen pregnancy rate among "developed" countries.

Adolescents have higher rates of preterm birth, low birth weight infants, and infant deaths. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high school, remain single, live in poverty, and rely on public assistance. Their children are more likely to have behavioral problems, rely heavily on public health care, drop out of high school, and become teen parents themselves. The cycle keeps repeating with these negative societal costs and an $11 billion annual cost to US taxpayers.

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Contraception is literally lifesaving for women with serious medical conditions. A woman's ability to control her fertility is critical if she has heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. For these women, an unplanned pregnancy can worsen their health and, for some, could be fatal. Contraception allows these women to prevent pregnancy altogether, or to postpone a pregnancy until such time as their health improves.

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Contraception is a basic and essential element of women's preventive health care and a basic public health necessity. Family planning is about freedom-the freedom to decide when and if to have children. Every woman should have this freedom through access to the same core set of essential health benefits, including contraception, regardless of what state she lives in, her income, or her employer's beliefs.

And much more at the link: Universal access to contraception could be a life saver

Written by James T. Breeden, M.D., president of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.