Free Birth Control Women Argumentative Essay

Strong argumentative essay about how the birth control is a leading contraceptive for a woman and how it should be free. It must be in MLA formatting with citation in the correct order

The issue of birth control and its accessibility has been a very polarizing and contentious debate throughout America. Many proponents of birth control note many of the societal benefits of having free access to birth control which includes a reduction in abortion rates, reduction in unplanned pregnancies, and more. However, those against such a measure cite the economic unsustainability of such as measure. They also note that society will essentially be paying for free contraceptives that many Americans will be morally against doing. Each side of the argument has very valid and often substantiated claims. However, it is my contention that birth control for woman should be free.

To begin, it is important to define the term “free” as it is one of the most misused terms in everyday discourse. For the context of this argumentative essay the “free” means a shift in the cost of female contraceptives from those who are the actual users to those who may not be users, i.e. society. Here irrespective of political views, moral standing, or socio-economic standing, all in society will pay a portion of the costs of contraceptives. This typically would come in the form of higher taxes, higher health insurance premiums or a combination of the two. It is my contention that the inconvenience imposed on society through higher taxes or higher health care premiums is heavily offset by the reduction in unplanned pregnancies and abortions.

The University of Washington published a study that found that providing free birth control to women reduced abortions and unplanned pregnancies to roughly 70% of the national average (Rue, 2004). According to the Brookings institute, nearly 90% of all abortions occur due to unplanned pregnancy. Abortions, from a monetary perspective cost around $1600 per procedure. On average roughly 860,000 abortions occur each year. As a result on average society is spending $1,376,000,000 per year on abortions. These speaks nothing to the actual true cost of abortions which include psychological and health problems as well. For example, a study found that after an abortion, women are twice as likely to psychiatric care as oppose to women who gave birth willingly (Munk-Olsen, 2011). The issues are exacerbated when dealing with women who are lower on the socio-economic ladder. Here studies have shown that lower income women deal with larger mental health issues that can be detrimental to society in subsequent years (Reardon, 2003). These drawbacks can include lower productivity at work, higher propensity for mental illness, high propensity to develop drug and alcohol addictions (Biggs, 2020). In many of these instances society would be essentially paying the price of additional mental health treatment, lower productivity, and other costs associated with drug addictions. By investing heavily in “free” contraception for women, society is taking a more proactive approach towards unwanted and much more costly issues later on.

To concluded, society would benefit from “free” contraception for women in a litany of ways. First, from an overall healthcare perspective, society can significantly reduce the overall cost associated with abortions which on an average year would cost nearly $1.3 billion a year. These cost savings could be used to help finance the availability of “free” contraception for women. Likewise, as it relates to the women themselves providing “free” contraception also helps improve their overall mental health. As noted above, women who engage in abortions are often much more damaged psychological and those require services that society will ultimately end up paying for to some degree (Sullins, 2019). Finally from a societal perspective, it provides a much more cost-effective method to help reducing unwanted or unplanned pregnancy which benefits society as a whole.