The access to it, and the debate behind It -savanna milbee- Birth Control The access to it, and the debate behind It -savanna milbee-

Introduction & History The hot button issue I address in this project is the importance of women needing access to low-cost or no-cost birth control. This includes women of all color, women of multiple age groups, and women of all social classes. The history behind the issue dates back to: Around 3000 B.C. Condoms made from such materials as fish bladders, linen sheaths, and animal intestines. In 1950, while in her 80s, Sandra Sanger underwrote the research necessary to create the first human birth control pill In 1960 The first oral contraceptive, named Enovid, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as contraception. In 1980 Pills with low doses of hormones were introduced, along with a new copper IUD Paraguard. Today: Birth control is being explored for both sexes, and access to women’s birth control varies across the world.

Pros of having Access to Birth Control ACLU states that: Eighty-five percent of male teenagers and 76% of female teenagers in the United States have had sexual intercourse by the age of 19. The percentage of sexually active students increases dramatically with each year of age -- from 22% for females and 27% for males at age 15 to 51% for females and 59% for males at age 17. TO SUMMARIZE: Teens are having sex in numbers increasing every year– whether we stop them or not. The pro of having access to condoms- is safe sex. A STUDYTO PROVE IT: Among students in Baltimore who participated in a school-based pregnancy prevention program that linked sex education with free medical and contraceptive services (including condoms) at an adjacent clinic, the pregnancy rate declined 30.1% after 28 months in the program. 

Pros: A Video Clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tq5aeX1XTs Yale's Dr. Aileen Gariepy explains how, when it comes to family planning, individual women aren't thinking about politics.

Cons of having Access to Birth Control Access to birth control does not restrict who has access to it. This means that someone too young to engage in intercourse would have accessibility to, for example, a condom machine in schools. Malcolm Friedberg, a contributor at Huffington Post says that, “According to an op-ed in the New York Times, Republicans in Congress are attempting to add $28M to the State Children’s Health Insurance bill that was vetoed by the president. The money goes specifically to teaching abstinence. The editorial states that studies show that abstinence doesn’t work, and abstinence programs teach false information. Clearly, if kids are getting bad information, that issue needs to be addressed. But the fundamental point remains: Isn’t handing out condoms encouraging 11-year-old kids to have sex?

Cons: A Video Clip. Protesters on both sides of birth control debate battle outside Supreme Court https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by_2eeiooQA

Conversational Questions: Is providing Access to Birth Control to women, teens, etc- going against religion, and offending many? Why is this important to some, and not to others? Why should or shouldn’t church and state be separate in this debate? Is providing Access to Birth Control to women, teens, etc- making tax payers liable to pay for things they don’t believe in? How can voters ensure they are voting for the things they believe in either way?

Conclusion: The debate will always be whether or not access to birth control is a right as a human being. As an individual, I personally believe it should be administered to teens by a professional (like a nurse) to keep the rates of teen pregnancy down. (Because lets be honest here- teens are going to have sex- so it might as well be safe!) In terms of cost, I think people of all income levels should be able to afford birth control and it should not be something only people of the middle to upper class should be able to afford. I believe this because preventing pregnancy is an act all humans should have the right to choose.

Data/information collected References McCLAIN, D. (2015). The Birth-Control Revolution. Nation, 301(20), 20. https://www.aclu.org/other/school-based-condom-availability- programs?redirect=cpredirect/16391