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Finding common ground on birth control

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Staff

By Paige Johnson

It was a snow day like no other. With schools and businesses closed, a record number of North Carolinians tuned in to watch the 44th president sworn into office. For many viewers, the day ushered in a belief that we can finally move beyond the entrenched differences that divide us.

Two days after the inauguration was the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. Few issues will test the power of President Obama’s ability to bridge divides quite like abortion.

In fact, few issues test the resolve of all Americans to move beyond rhetoric to meaningful solutions the way this one does. Three decades after Roe v. Wade, Americans still remain divided. It makes little sense to continue beating the same drum.

People want solutions, not more of the same vitriol. In a time of economic uncertainty, when so many neighbors, friends and communities are struggling to make ends meet, our focus should be on remedies and, to the extent possible, on the areas in which we agree.

Birth control seems a common-sense place to begin. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a non-partisan reproductive health care think tank, 99 percent of women at some point in their life rely on birth control to prevent unintended pregnancies.

Birth control allows women and families to decide when they are ready for a child, which better prepares them to care for that child, emotionally and financially. When women have greater access to birth control, fewer unintended pregnancies occur. This means fewer abortions occur. We can reduce the number of abortions by increasing access to birth control without stigmatizing or punishing a woman who decides that terminating a pregnancy is the right decision.

In North Carolina, 21 percent of women in their childbearing years are without health coverage of any sort. This means they must pay out of pocket for doctor visits or rely on publicly funded contraceptive services. An additional 11 percent of women in childbearing years rely on Medicaid for family planning services. Without taking teenagers into account, roughly a third of women in the state rely on or need some form of publicly funded birth control.

North Carolina has a remarkable history as the first state in the nation to provide voluntary, publicly funded family planning services. On average, every dollar invested in family planning services provides a state with more than four dollars in savings from public assistance. This makes birth control a common-sense solution as well as a cost-savings measure for our state.

We can do more to help women plan and space their pregnancies for healthier birth outcomes. And we can do more for women who want to parent but face financial challenges.

There is no experience more life altering than having a child. Sixty percent of women who have abortions are mothers already. The majority cite a need to care for others as the number one reason why they have an abortion. They understand the love a child promises as well as the responsibilities and obligations of caring for a child.

If we really want to help people care for their children, we should provide more support to parents. Take child care for example. It is not feasible for most families to live on one income, especially in today’s economic climate. The average price of child care for an infant in North Carolina costs more per year than it does to pay tuition and fees at our state universities. No wonder there are some 30,000-plus families on the waiting list for child care assistance.

There are endless ways in which we can help provide greater access to health care, including birth control, responsible sex education and greater support for families struggling to care for their children. With all that we can and should do to make the world a better, healthier place, it seems like such a waste of time to cling to the entrenched differences that divide us.

Paige Johnson is the director of public affairs at Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina.

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