Free birth control slashes teen pregnancy and abortions, study finds

[Karee 4,191]

Giving teens free birth control encourages them to use long-acting methods and greatly cuts the chances they will become pregnant or have an abortion, a new study finds.

The average annual pregnancy rate was 34 per 1,000 girls in the study — far below the national average of 158.5 for sexually active teens.

Doctors say the results show that when money is not a factor, teens will chose IUDs and hormone implants over less reliable methods such as birth control pills or condoms. Nearly three-fourths of teens in the study picked long-acting methods; only 5 percent of U.S. teens use those now.

“When costs are removed, young people and families will use these effective methods,” said Dr. Mary Ott of Indiana University. She had no role in the study but led an American Academy of Pediatrics’ policy statement earlier this week urging long-acting contraception, a stance other doctor groups endorse.

She said the study shows that more can be done to curb teen pregnancy. “It’s good for the teens and it’s cost-effective for society” to offer free, effective birth control, Ott said.

One study participant, Marlice House, 25, of St. Louis, said she got an IUD in 2008 as a teen in the project after having tried two less reliable methods.

“I wanted to go to college and I didn’t want to have a child at an early age,” she said.

The study was led by Gina Secura and Dr. Jeffrey Peipert of Washington University in St. Louis. Results are in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Paying for birth control, especially IUDs, or intrauterine devices, has long been a contentious issue. In June, the Supreme Court sided with the company Hobby Lobby and said that employers with religious objections could opt out of a federal rule requiring insurers to cover contraceptives. The Obama administration has been looking at other ways to increase access to birth control.

The study involved a project in St. Louis that offered 1,400 girls their choice of methods but stressed the benefits of IUDs and hormone implants that last three to 10 years. The girls were at high risk of unintended pregnancy — nearly 500 were just 14 to 17 when they enrolled, and half of those young teens had already been pregnant and 18 percent had had an abortion.

During follow-up between 2008 and 2013, the average annual birth rate was 19.4 per 1,000 teens in the study, versus 94 for sexually active teens in the general population. The comparable abortion rates were 9.7 versus 41.5.

Of the 56 pregnancies that occurred during the study, teens reported using no birth control at the time of conception in 25 cases. Only two with IUDs became pregnant. Thirteen said they had been using birth control pills and nine reported using condoms. Other methods accounted for the rest.

Researchers relied on teens to report pregnancies in surveys throughout the study, so some may have been missed. National teen pregnancy rates have been falling, but even so, the differences seen in the study “are substantial and of public health importance,” the authors wrote.

The project was sponsored by the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and others. Two authors have financial ties to companies that make contraceptives.

The project also included about 7,500 older women. Similar results — lower pregnancy, birth and abortion rates — for the group as a whole were reported two years ago.

Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20141001-free-birth-control-slashes-teen-pregnancy-and-abortions-study-finds.ece

Edited October 2, 2014 by Karee

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

In other news: The sky is blue and water is wet.

[Darnell 8,479]

That's great the research was done in St. Louis !

I wonder how many outliers from Ferguson were included in the research study?

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

In other news: The sky is blue and water is wet.

Jesus Christ on a stick man, must you denigrate everyone you don't like publicly? Try adding to a thread or just staying quiet, no need for personal attacks.

I'm surprised the mods don't shut you down more.

[Karee 4,191]

Jesus Christ on a stick man, must you denigrate everyone you don't like publicly? Try adding to a thread or just staying quiet, no need for personal attacks.

I'm surprised the mods don't shut you down more.

[Curmudgeon 227]

Isn't free birth control one of the things that so called 'abortion clinics' offer? I always thought there were health centers that offered these kind of programs, even if it's not always widely known or utilized. Good idea though, provide free birth control for all that need it.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Best way to stop unwanted pregnancies and abortions? Butt sex. I had to edit because a nal is filtered.

Edited October 2, 2014 by spookyturtle

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Yes this is obvious. The only people who won't be happy about this news are crackpot religious freaks who believe abstinence is the ideal solution and selfish libertarian types who don't like the idea of anything being provided for free that might cost them money.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Jesus Christ on a stick man, must you denigrate everyone you don't like publicly? Try adding to a thread or just staying quiet, no need for personal attacks.

I'm surprised the mods don't shut you down more.

WFT are you smoking? Put the pipe down. All my comment expresses is that what the study found is glaringly obvious. Has nothing to do with who posted it.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

In other news: The sky is blue and water is wet.

That was very similar to the No duh, reply I was about to make .

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

That was very similar to the No duh, reply I was about to make .

Exactly. Not sure why Dave got all worked up about it.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Jesus Christ on a stick man, must you denigrate everyone you don't like publicly? Try adding to a thread or just staying quiet, no need for personal attacks.

I'm surprised the mods don't shut you down more.

LOL Dave. No your not. Look at our most prolific troll. Page after page of nothing but personal attack. Is anything ever done.

As for MBD, I was about to say almost what he said. He is really harmless. He is just grumpy cause he is wrong so much.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

LOL Dave. No your not. Look at our most prolific troll. Page after page of nothing but personal attack. Is anything ever done.

As for MBD, I was about to say almost what he said. He is really harmless. He is just grumpy cause he is wrong so much.

I think the mods realise that you and Dave etc. are participants in the negativity as much as anyone else - so to suggest that there's a single troll or group of trolls who are ruining the board for everyone else is a load of dishonest garbage. It's no surprise that everyone except those who don't share your opinions or political affiliations are 'the trolls'.

Most of the people here could use a thicker skin and a smaller ego, yourself included. That would solve a lot of the problems, if they are even problems at all.

Edited October 2, 2014 by Hail Ming!

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

That's great the research was done in St. Louis !

I wonder how many outliers from Ferguson were included in the research study?

News flash D. Ferguson isn't that big. There are plenty of other neighborhoods here.

[Darnell 8,479]

News flash D. Ferguson isn't that big. There are plenty of other neighborhoods here.

Hey ! I was writing satire ! come on ! don't be so literal, there's womyns and real estate to be had..

[no ladyboys were harmed during the writing of this message]