DDeguzmanAmerican Governments Many women within the United States are worried about the availability of birth control and emergency contraceptives coming in the near future. There are many ways a woman can gain access to birth control: this includes going to your primary care provider, a clinic such as Planned Parenthood, or your local drug store. However, with the laws wanting to be passed by the Trump Administration, the access to birth control and emergency contraceptives, may become very limited.
Based on the data shown on National Center for Health Statistics website, the United States have shown a significant amount of improvement with the decreasing rates of teen pregnancy between the ages 15-19. However, our current elected officials want to put a stop to this. Non-profit organization or small businesses that help provide birth control for the community such as Planned Parenthood systems, are weakening due to the lack of support by our elected officials, especially with funding. Although birth rates have significantly decreased throughout the years of 2005-2015, because of the decisions that are being made by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services and the guidance of the Trump Administration, these rates can escalate quickly. In general, health related topics have always been relevant during elections throughout the years, including birth control. During the current term of President Trump, he has been working towards limiting the access and insurance coverage for birth control. During 2018, Trump Administration finalized two rules that were issued by the U.S Department of Human and Health Services that generally exempts non-profit organizations and small businesses from complete access and coverage to birth control. Additionally during the midterm election, Trump provoked the rule created during Obama’s term on employers having to pay for female birth controls. Total Birth per 1,000 Females (Age 15-19) 2005 2015 17.9 - 34.9 21 States 9.4 - 19.3 20 States 35.2 42.4 10 States 19.4 - 25 11 States 42.5 - 61.6 20 States 25.3 - 38 20 States Figure 1. Teen Pregnancy Rates (source CDC.gov) From the presidency of George Bush to Barack Obama, we can entail that the teen pregnancy rates have significantly decreased. The data information on Figure 1 was derived from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website. As we can see from Figure 1, when comparing the time of presidency during Bush and Obama, we can recognize the significant decrease within teen pregnancy. This data table can offer valid evidence of teen pregnancy rates within the span of 10 years under two different presidencies. During my research, I found an article with the headline, “FDA Commissioner Crawford, No More Stalling! Plan B belongs on Drugstore Shelves!” (Center for Reproductive Rights, 2005). This article was written during the term of President George Bush and former FDA Commissioner, Lester Crawford. Based on the title of this article, we can already assume where President Bush stands towards birth control and emergency contraceptive accessibility. The article explains how the FDA has failed to make Plan B available without a prescription for plenty of years, which explains why the rates from Figure 1 are so high during 2005 compared to 2015. We would have hoped for the future presidency to improve on this issue with President Bush making it hard for us women to be able to attain birth control or emergency contraceptive. As President Barack Obama became president, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) lessened the worries for those who needed birth control and/or emergency contraceptives. The ACA required employer private health insurance plans to cover birth control. Teens were positively affected with this ruling, due to the fact that many teens are usually under their parent or guardian’s health insurance plan. Countless teens rely on birth control access hence the fact that they are still young, under the roofs of their parent or guardian, and unable to provide for a child. Trump’s Administration are trying to make it difficult for women to gain access to birth control and emergency contraceptives. As I’ve mentioned before, many people were protesting against Former FDA Commissioner Crawford, who wanted to keep Plan B as a prescription only status. Similarly, Trump’s Administration wants to apply restrictions on birth control/Plan B by defunding clinics that provide these sexual services and/or medications and also wanting to limit the coverage from public and private insurances, such as employer’s insurance. Teen pregnancy is affected within this issue since most teens are still covered under their parent or guardian’s insurance. However, as stated on the official New York Times website, “A federal court issued a nationwide injunction on Monday that prevents the Trump administration from interfering with women’s access to free birth control guaranteed under the Affordable Care Act,” (Pear, 2019). With the similarities of Bush’s aspects and Trump’s aspects towards the access of birth control, we can anticipate teen pregnancy rates to increase. Since the Trump Administration wanted to restrict and limit the access women have for birth control and emergency contraceptives but didn’t succeed, we can only hope the best for the 2020 midterm elections regarding this issue. Many women would want the next president to keep the ideas and morals of the Affordable Care Act in regards to sexual health services and/or medications.
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AuthorUndergraduate student generated content. Blog posting and updating done by Kristina Flores Victor, Assistant Professor of Political Science at CSUS Archives
March 2020
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