¶ … Contraceptives and the Health Covers Debate The debate over who should cover the cost of contraception is alive in our society today and equally contradictory among different groups, depending on the religious persuasion, philosophical inclination or social upbringing of the people involved. There are, however, factors that remain true and alive with us that need to be well understood first before delving further into the ideological inclinations, the teen pregnancy in the U.S. stands at 273,105 as of 2013 with these babies being born of teenagers between 15 to 19 years of age. This accounts for 26.5 per 1,000 live births. In as much as this is a low record as compared to the 2012 statistics which was 10% higher, the numbers are still high and the effects of these teen pregnancies are palpable within our daily livelihoods in the local community (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). There are deaths due to attempted abortions, complications after abortions, social impacts of the ten pregnancies, dashed dreams due to change in status from a teenager to a

Such facts hence raise the question of who should be responsible for the cost of contraception. These staggering statistics, and the realization that there are faces behind these statistics means that this issue is timely and applicable in the contemporary society that grapples with not only economic burden of the maternity related costs, but also the social issues that come with teen pregnancy, employability during pregnancy and the economic distress that pushes each individual to double their efforts and take up two odd jobs to stay afloat. Unplanned distractions like unplanned pregnancy is the last thing a struggling youth would like to hear of, hence the time to discuss effective financing and availing of contraception is long overdue.
In the 2001 survey, it was found that 49% of the pregnancies in the U.S. were unintended, with majority being among the teenage girls. In 2002, it was found that the direct medical cost of unintended pregnancies was $5 billion, the cost saving in the same year due to contraception was pegged at $19.3 billion (Park M., 2011). This means that the cost of contraception is cheaper option hence the right direction to go, but also that it is a necessary part and parcel of the women preventive health care that should be provided with the health covers at no…