A 2008-2010 birth control study to more than 9,000 poor and uninsured St. Louis women proved that when proper information is given, more effective family planning methods are chosen. After receiving free counseling, teens between the ages of 15 to 19 had only 6.3 out-of-wedlock births compared to national rates of 34.3. And for every 1,000 women, the St. Louis general population lowered abortion rates to 13.4, compared to 20, the national rate.
Conclusion? We must fund Planned Parenthood in order to provide proper family planning and reproductive care to those who would not ordinarily have access to this vital information. For more information, see www.popconnect.org/news.
C.J. Briggle
