When the Obama administration wanted a list of preventive services that women needed to stay healthy and that should be insured with no co-pay, it commissioned a report by the Institute of Medicine, an independent group of doctors and researchers. Increased access to contraception made the list. The institute’s report found the following:
¶ In 2008, about half of all pregnancies in the United States were unplanned, and 42 percent of the unintended pregnancies ended in abortion. When the use of birth control went up, rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion fell. Co-pays prevented some women from using contraception.
¶ Women with unintended pregnancies were more likely to be depressed and to do things that could harm the fetus, like smoking, drinking and delaying or skipping prenatal care. As a result, babies from unintended pregnancies were at increased risk of prematurity and low birth weight and were less likely to be breastfed. Similar risks occurred when births were too closely spaced. Birth control was important to keep pregnancies at least 18 months apart.
¶ Birth control pills are also used to treat menstrual problems, some migraine headaches, acne, pelvic pain, excessive hair growth and other conditions. They can also reduce the risk of endometrial cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease and some benign breast diseases.
¶ Risks and side effects from contraceptives are “minimal.” Death rates from pregnancy are higher than those from birth control, except among smokers who take birth control pills.