Free birth control: you already have it | THE PIONEER

Marty Lobdell
Staff Writer?

I was recently asked my opinion of college health centers giving out free birth control. I have tried to avoid sharing my opinion on sexual matters, but in this case I will. There is research that shows when women have access to free, highly effective birth control methods, unwanted pregnancies and abortions decline appreciably. If colleges have the resources to provide highly effective methods of birth control, then I am totally for it. On the other hand, Planned Parenthood does provide highly effective methods for free or based upon ability to pay.

There are a couple of important qualifiers to what I just shared. First, the methods must be highly reliable, easy to use, and be used correctly. Second, the highly effective methods of birth control provide no protection from sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Unless a woman is having intercourse with a partner who is absolutely free of sexual infections, a condom or oral rubber dam (for use on a woman?s genitals) are a must. Unfortunately, used alone, the failure rate for condoms is too high (circa 10%), in my opinion, to be used to prevent pregnancy. Nor is the condom 100% effective in preventing infections, but it is the best we have if one is sexually active. *Condoms are available for free at the Student Programs Office at Pierce College at Steilacoom.

So what are the highly effective forms of birth control? Abstinence is extremely effective, no expense without any side effects beyond longing, aching, etc.? If we are discussing lowering the rate of pregnancy following vaginal intercourse between fertile partners, then we are discussing contraception (a category of birth control). Birth control methods include contraception, abstinence, sterilization and abortion. I will not include sterilization nor abortion because neither is a practical nor primary mode of birth control for most college students.

The most effective methods of contraception are: vaginal ring (NuvaRing), the patch (Ortho Evra), IUDs (e.g., Mirena, Paragard), and the Depo-Provera shot. The above methods have the lowest risk of pregnancy (be aware they do fail for .5 to 1% of users). They enjoy the lowest risk of failure because the woman need do little or nothing once the method is employed. Note: a 1% failure rate means that one woman out of 100 using the method for a year becomes pregnant.

The various forms of oral contraception (the pill) are still fairly effective (about a 3% failure rate). The rate drops below 1% failure when taken consistently at the same time of day, etc. Clearly, careful use makes the pill much more effective.

Now the bad news, the most effective methods cannot be used by all women. For example, the pill creates higher risks for strokes and blood clots in older women who smoke or have a family history of clots. When I taught human sexuality and we discussed the highly effective contraceptive methods, there were always women who loved and other women who hated each method. Because the selection of a contraceptive method should be tailored to the woman, I will not go further with the down-side of contraception.

Source: http://www.piercepioneernews.com/2012/10/18/free-birth-control-you-already-have-it/

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