Do you believe that publicly funded contraceptive services is a great way to prevent?
untimely pregnancies and thus decrease the amount of newborns that possibly could have been surrendered and lost to adoption? I do, do you? If not, why not? I would truly like to see contraceptives be made available to all females....at no monetary cost....FREE! I know that Birth Control is not 100% guaranteed, is still better than the alternatives...that of abstinence (what a joke) and the rhythm method. From the Guttmacher Institute..FACT: Publicly funded contraceptive services helped prevent 860,000 unplanned births in the United States in 2006.
MamaKate2010-08-05T18:21:15Z
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Yes, I do - as would THOROUGH and HONEST reproductive education. Including but certainly not limited to:
*biology - from attraction through delivery to bonding *contraceptive methods and their proper use, pro/con of each method * STDs and other scientific health issues *healthy relationship skills and ethics - emotional health *alternative relationships *infertility issues *pregnancy issues *basic parenting skills *adoption issues *resources for health and families *debunking of urban legends and myths about sex, homosexuality, parenting, etc. * etc. etc. etc.
Why are people so secretive and taboo about something SO intrinsic and basic to life, I cannot understand. For something that is such a HUGE part of human health - why is this subject limed to a week in a few grades? Why are ethics, etiquette, finances and so many other LIFE skills left out of the discussion of public education when people are so quick to complain and condemn when people "just don't get it". Is passing a standardized test more important than having a functional population?
I think it is inane and am rather disgusted about the fact that BC is not free and widely available to both men and women when billions can be spent on wars, politics and other hateful endeavors with barely the bat of an eyelash. It would certainly be cheaper if not more humane.
I completely agree. I always love it when people say, "But contraceptive isn't 100% effective, although abstinence is." Well, I can tell you that I only know ONE person who became pregnant while using a type of birth control PROPERLY. What people do not understand is that most contraceptives are between 97 and 99% effective if used properly. All the rest of the people I know that used a contraceptive method and became pregnant, were not using it correctly. Either they did not use a condom every time, they took antibiotics while on the pill, they went too long between depo shots, or they forgot to take their pill a couple times that month. Honestly, properly using contraceptives is very close to having the same effectiveness as abstaining. This is why they should be FREE to all in the US.
You need both education and publicly funded contraceptive services. I also think that girls, 15 and older should be able to have access to such contraception without parental permission. Too many parents live in denial that their children are having sex until their daughter or son tells them that there is a baby on the way. Right now, the only free access is through Planned Parenthood and your local health dept - both places may be difficult for a girl without transportation to reach.
Women on welfare actually have far fewer children than women who are not because they can access free contraception through Medicaid. You can't limit it just to 'the pill' because not everybody can take it. IUDs are expensive and beyond the means of many poor women who would opt for that option.
No. And here's why: in states where there are publicly funded options, there are still SO many unwanted pregnancies. The really great way to prevent unwanted pregnancies is to make sex education an integral part of the public education curriculum starting in middle school. The biggest reason teens don't use birth control isn't lack of availability, it's guilt about sex and shame about getting birth control or asking their partners to use it. Removing that guilt and shame should start in the home, but if it doesn't, it should start at school. When I talk to kids, I see that there are SO many myths about sex you wouldn't believe (ie, "you can't get pregnant while you're menstruating" or "oral sex isn't REALLY sex") Those have no place in the 21st century.
And it's actually been shown in research that kids who are well-educated about sex wait longer for first sexual contact and are at a lesser risk of contracting STIs.
it would be effective when coupled with education, not just about the dangers/repercussions/benefits of sex, but the importance and power of pregnancy and birth. people take things like that too lightly. we need a huge attitude adjustment AND education AND access to reproductive health.
and as far as birth control not being effective, as many nay-sayers like to point out, most methods are around 99% effective. if you are on the pill (using correctly) and use condoms correctly, that's two methods that are 99% effective. yes, that can still fail, but the odds are way against it.