Morning Roundup: Reduce Unplanned Pregnancies by Providing a Year of Contraception

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Draft regulations in the UK aim to tell women the truth about abortion, Medicaid-covered midwifery in Idaho, the Pope talks to doctors instead of women, Wyoming rejects mandatory ultrasound bill, and dramatic reductions in unplanned pregnancies by giving women a year of birth control at a time. 

  • The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is causing a stir in the United Kingdom over draft regulations that tell aim to tell women scientific, medical facts about abortion – that it is generally safer than carrying a pregnancy to term, and that “there is no evidence that terminations cause psychological problems.” The Royal College also recommends that women who’ve already decided to end a pregnancy should not have to undergo mandatory counseling.
  • Legislators in the Idaho House of Representatives have approved a bill that would allow for midwife-assisted births to be covered under Medicaid. The average cost of midwife-attended birth would cost the state $1,500, as opposed to the $6,000 for a typical hospital birth.
  • Pope Benedict is urging doctors to tell women that “abortion solves nothing” and that women must be protected from the idea that terminating a pregnancy might be the answer to health problems. We’ll just call this Exhibit A of not treating women like capable, adult humans. Why talk directly to women? They probably won’t understand what you’re saying anyway.
  • The Wyoming Senate rejected a mandatory ultrasound bill that had previously passed in the state’s House. The vote was 15-14 against the intrusive legislation.
  • Want to reduce unintended pregnancies? A new study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology says give out a year of birth control pills or devices at a time, instead of a one or three month supply. If you’ve ever been on birth control, you know it’s happened to you: late Sunday night, you realized you don’t have a new prescription to take your pill first thing in the morning. But the study is pretty astounding:
    Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), saw a 46% decline in the odds of an abortion and a 30% decrease in the odds of pregnancy when low-income women who relied on public programs for contraception received a one-year supply of birth control pills instead of the usual one- or three-month stash.

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