An experimental project where birth controls were given out free of cost was found to have reduced the number of teenage pregnancy and abortion rates.
An experimental project that was carried out in St. Louis from 2005 to 2011 found that when birth controls were given out for free, it reduced the number of teen births and abortions. The findings were published in the Obstetrics & Gynecology Thursday.
According to lead researcher Jeffrey Peipert, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine "free" was not the main factor here. The point of the experiment that birth controls should be available to women in any circumstance.
The study was carried out on more than 9,000 women and teen girls aged between 17 and 45. The participants were offered any birth control of their choice ranging from pills to IUDs and matchstick-sized implants.
Before that they were given proper counseling on the benefits of each birth control method and were told that IUDs and implants are more suitable than pills.
It was found that when price wasn't an issue, all women opted for the most effective contraceptive which was the implants. An implant generally could cost more than a couple of hundred dollars.
"As a society, we want to reduce unintended pregnancies and abortion rates. This study has demonstrated that having access to no-cost contraception helps us get to that goal," said Alina Salganicoff, director of women's health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
"It's just an amazing improvement," Dr. James T. Breeden, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said of the results. "I would think if you were against abortions, you would be 100 percent for contraception access."
The law requires that Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives be available for free for women enrolled in most workplace insurance plans, a change that many will see as new plan years begin on Jan. 1.
Voicing a different opinion, Jeanne Monahan of the conservative Family Research Council suggested contraceptive use can encourage riskier sexual behavior.
"Additionally, one might conclude that the Obama administration's contraception mandate may ultimately cause more unplanned pregnancies since it mandates that all health plans cover contraceptives, including those that the study's authors claim are less effective," Monahan said.
