Should birth control be free?
Fact Box
- Modern birth control, also known as contraception, is used by women to help prevent pregnancy, reduce painful period symptoms, or regulate irregular cycles. Types of birth control methods include barrier (such as a condom or diaphragm), hormonal (such as “the pill”), long-acting reversible (IUD), or even sterilization surgeries.
- The average cost range for birth control is between $0-2,000 with more than 65% of US women ages 15-49 reportedly using some form of contraception.
- Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, coined the term “birth control,” using it for the first time in print in 1914 and then later opening the fist birth control clinic in 1916, violating America’s Comstock Law, which banned contraception and categorized the concept as illicit.
- The first birth control oral pill approved for use in the US by the FDA in 1960 was called Enovid, costing between $7-11 per month, which is equivalent to around $100 by today’s inflationary standards.
- The 1965 SCOTUS decision in Griswold v. Connecticut ruled that the use of contraception was lawful for married couples only. Later, the 1972 ruling in Eisenstadt v. Baird legalized birth control for everyone.
Elisa (No)
People tend to forget that when something is 'free,' it usually really isn't free. That is true when it comes to 'free' birth control. 'Free' birth control for all will likely come from our taxes, which doesn't make economic sense. Politicians commonly use words to make it appear as if birth control will be 'free,' using loopholes and euphemisms to end up charging people more in 'insurance' and taxes.
Though birth control is considered safe and effective, that is simply not true for all—many have side effects and even severe risks, so it should not be given freely to anyone. Birth control isn't always as safe as it is portrayed, and it would be dangerous and even foolish to just freely distribute pills that can disrupt hormones and even cause blood clots to just anyone.
Moreover, offering birth control at no cost has moral and ethical consequences. Youth and adults who take it might more easily than before become sexually promiscuous, further degrading our society as we push aside our once-held, highly valued virtues. Though birth control is often proclaimed as a miracle today, it has detrimental moral consequences that should be seriously reconsidered.
Birth control isn't just bad for society—it actually affects the environment and gets into our water sources. If anything, birth control should be limited, or at least regulated—meaning not freely handed out—due to the excrement of birth control chemicals that pollute our environment. Ultimately, money should be invested in sex education, not promoting more sexual activity. Instead of throwing around free birth control to an uneducated population, we should focus on proper sex education and reviewing the health risks associated with chemical birth control.
Luis (Yes)
The importance of birth control cannot be understated in a woman's life. It helps prevent unwanted pregnancies, giving women more control over their reproductive health, helps regulate periods, and can even clear up acne. Failing to make it free and accessible for women creates an unfair and unbalanced scenario where only those who have the money can get it, and those who don't have the proper resources will be forced to live in a vulnerable manner.
Birth control should be free, seeing as some studies indicate the pill helped contribute to increases in women's wages by 30% between the 1960s and 90s. According to a recent report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research, those with access to legal contraception at a young age can earn more money during their 30s and 40s. The report explains that the reason behind it is that having access to birth control allows people to delay having children, providing the opportunity to choose an occupation and even invest in higher education.
On the other hand, free birth control can reduce the number of abortions in the United States. A recent Washington University study states that free birth control could prevent between 40 and 70% of abortions. Investigators came to this conclusion after providing free contraception to nearly 10,000 teens and women, finding that the abortion rate among them fell by around 62 and 78%. Unwanted pregnancies represent a delicate problem that affects all members of society, considering the social and economic impacts. Birth control offered at no cost to women is an effective solution that benefits everyone and offsets the many other female-specific products women must buy monthly over most of their lifetimes.
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