DISCUSSION RESPONSE
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RESPONSEONBIRTHCONTROL.docxBirth control has long been an important issue in women’s health. Politics has an impact on a women’s ability to access health care, especially young women, ethnic women and women with little financial means. In the 1970’s the Nixon administration allowed federal funding for the Title X program to give access to low-income patients for family planning, birth control, and preventive care services to women (Physicians for Reproductive Health [PRH], n.d.). Currently under the Trump administration, new restrictions to the Title X funding program has limited the healthcare provider’s ability to share all women’s healthcare options, including abortions (Gomez, 2019). Limited access to birth control and family planning can have a negative consequence for women’s health.
The social implications of limited access to birth control and health prevention services for women can affect the health of the women, her family, and the community. Women need access to birth control to limit sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Women are most often the primary caregivers to their children and need education on maintaining their own health to provide care. Having access to birth control can, in turn, can help women stay healthier, and be able to provide the supportive care needed for their children and family (Daniel, Erickson, & Bornstien, 2018). The economic impacts of limited access to birth control could increase poverty in the community. Unwanted pregnancies can delay education goals, delay birth gaps, increase stress in relationships and increase depression and anxiety (Sonfield, Hasstedt, Kavanaugh, & Anderson, 2014). All of these impacts can limit a women’s ability to get a job and provide financial means for herself and her family. Reproductive healthcare and preventative services help improve the overall health of women and their families.
Personal perceptions of providers, such as religious beliefs, may influence the information or the persuasion of conversations based on their beliefs. Religious beliefs can also alter the way providers educate patients on birth control choices. Earlier this year, the Trump administration enacted a rule that protected health care workers from being forced out of a job if they wanted to decline to participate in medical procedures such as abortion or birth control procedures that did not coincide with their religious beliefs or moral conscience (Kodjak, 2019). Women need providers who can give unbiased education on birth control choices. Some studies have shown bias tendencies in healthcare providers when educating women of lower socioeconomic status, non-white races, and ethnic groups. One study reported that long-acting reversible contraception such were more likely to be recommended to women of color than to poor white women as well as providers being more resistance to remove the devices (Higgins, Kramer, & Ryder, 2016). Women’s healthcare providers need to be educated on all contraception available and be able to give unbiased counseling to all patients regardless of their race or social class.
References
Daniel, H., Erickson, S.M., & Bornstein, S.S. (2018). Women's health policy in the United
States: An American college of physician’s position paper. Annuals of Internal Medicine, 168, 874-875. https://doi.org/10.7326/M17-3344
Gomez, A. (2019). Federal court rules Trump’s abortion ‘gag rule’ can take effect immediately.
Retrieved from
https://thinkprogress.org/appeals-court-abortion-gag-rule-title-x-can-take-effect-for-now-ruling-planned-parenthood-a5b891e1aae8/
Higgins, J. A., Kramer, R. D., & Ryder, K. M. (2016). Provider bias in long-acting reversible
contraception (LARC) promotion and removal: Perceptions of young adult women. American Journal of Public Health, 106(11), 1932–1937. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303393
Kodjak, A. (2019). New trump rule protects health care workers who refuse care for religious
reasons. Retrieved from
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/05/02/688260025/new-trump-rule-protects-health-care-workers-who-refuse-care-for-religious-reason
Physicians for Reproductive Health. (n.d.). What is Title X? An Explainer. Retrieved from
https://prh.org/what-is-title-x-an-explainer/
Sonfield, A., Hasstedt, K., Kavanaugh, M.L., & Anderson, R. (2013). The social and economic
benefits of women’s ability to determine wether and when to have children. Retrieved from
