Introduction
I. Attention Getter
What if I told you, a simple pill or shot could benefit someone you know? This product could benefit a family who has fallen on hard times. This product could make life more enjoyable for the user. What if I told you this product could benefit our economy? However, there’s a catch; this product would be at no cost to the user, the cost for this product would come from taxes that you pay. It does sound skeptical, but this is already being done in cities in Colorado.
II. Listener Relevance Link
62% of women in the United States are currently using birth control. It's likely that most of you in this room, know of a female who is using birth control such as the pill, implant, or shot. Now imagine this female in your life, is struggling to pay for her birth control on top of the bills she already has. Causing her to stop using birth control so she can get groceries, and then she gets pregnant, unintentionally. Now she is faced with many hard choices and a challenging future to provide for herself.
III. Speaker Credibility
Since my first menstrual cycle began, I’ve done my research on what benefits birth control has on women. As a young female, birth control is targeted towards my gender, for obvious reasons. Through my years of being on it, I’ve learned that birth control has given me the power to control when I want to conceive, so that I may focus on my career and future.
IV. Thesis Preview
To help you understand why free birth control can be beneficial to more than just the women taking it, I’ll share with you the benefits it has on our future families, and our communities and how Colorado has already done its part by providing free contraceptives for some of its citizens.
Transition: Before I can explain to you how government-covered birth control can benefit our economy, I would like to point out the benefits free contraceptives provide to our future families.
Body
- Free birth control benefits women, especially those in poverty. The benefits don’t stop at just the women receiving the birth control, the contraceptive product also aims to benefit the families of these women.
- Source: Urist, J. (2014). Social and Economic Benefits of Reliable Contraception. Retrieved (October 14, 2019) from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/the-broader-benefits-of-contraception/373856/
According to Jacoba Urist, in his article, ‘Social and Economic Benefits of Reliable Contraception’, women who have access to free, reliable birth control regardless of their income, are more likely to further their careers, resulting in higher incomes for women who choose when they want to get pregnant; bringing in children when they are ready. Children, who are of unintended pregnancies, are more likely to grow up in a life full of poverty and have delays academically.
Waiting until a woman is ready to have children also helps her relationship with her partner. When a couple waits until they are financially and emotionally ready, they are less likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. Thus, those who have unplanned pregnancies are more likely to split up causing their child to grow up in a broken home. Having a child before you are ready, can make finishing high school or that college degree you were so eager to get, difficult. Which will make getting a better-paying job, harder and make government assistance sound much more appealing.
Transition: Now that we know some benefits free birth control has on women and their future families, let’s talk about how free contraceptives can benefit our economy.
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- With unintended pregnancies seeming to be all too common here in the United States, studies show that women who are given access to free birth control could potentially save the U.S. $13.6 billion a year.
- Source: Frost, J., Sonfield, A., Zolina, M., & Finer, L. (2014) Return on Investment: A Fuller Assessment of the Benefits and Cost Savings of the US Publicly Funded Family Planning Program. The Milbank Quartley, Vol. 92, No. 4, (pg 667-720)
According to an analysis from the Guttmacher Institute, the average number of unplanned pregnancies is about 2.2 million in the U.S. every year. That’s the possibility of adding 2.2 million people to government assistance each year provided by the taxpayers’ dollars. In this same report, it is noted that for every dollar spent on long-term contraceptives, Medicaid spending will be saved by $5.68. Not only saving our childbearing women but saving our economy.
With the help of funded family planning, we can help lower the number of people who are assisted by the government. Less unintended pregnancies would mean the potential for fewer people on food assistance and Medicaid. Richard Nixon once said, “Unwanted or untimely childbearing is one of several forces which are driving many families into poverty or keeping them in that condition.”
Transition: Now that we have covered the potential benefits to our economy from free birth control, I would like to give you a working example; Colorado.
- With the rise of unintended pregnancies, Colorado has taken the initiative to provide free long-term birth control to women in the poorest parts of the state.
- Source: Epstein, J. (July 20, 2015). Is Birth Control the Key to Ending Poverty? Retrieved (October 14, 2019), from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/is-birth-control-the-key-to-ending-poverty/
Established in 2009, Colorado’s Family Planning Initiative has been able to provide long-term birth control to about 30,000 women at no cost to them, which normally would cost $900 for the woman. According to Jill Epstein in her article, ‘Is Birth Control the Key to Ending Poverty?’, Colorado chose to provide long-term birth control, such as the implant because it is more effective and has been known to have fewer failure rates.
Along with providing free long-term birth control, in doing so, Colorado has been able to see a decrease in teen pregnancies in the areas where the birth control was provided. More low-income teens in these areas are graduating high school than before. The state is seeing a decrease in people needing government assistance. Did the effects of providing free birth control to its citizens, help Colorado?
Conclusion
I. Thesis Review
In review, I have informed you of the benefits of free birth control on the families of women, the economy, and how Colorado has done its part, you can understand the advocacy behind free birth control for women.
II. Clincher
Now that I have educated you on a few facts about free birth control, would you stand behind the idea? Would you stand up for the cause knowing it would benefit children, and our economy and help a woman in need? Knowing what you know now, would you be okay with the taxes you pay going toward a woman’s contraceptives?
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