Although there have been many attempts to bring Planned Parenthood down, it seems like women are still getting the contraception that they need somehow. According to a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine, the rate of unintended pregnancy has dropped to its lowest level in the last thirty years.
According to the The New York Times, there were declines in almost every demographic group, such as income, race, education and age. For example, unintended pregnancies fell by 14 percent among college graduates, and 28 percent among teenagers.
The authors of this study said it’s not any change in sexual behavior that caused these numbers, but rather changes in the use of birth control.
“The biggest change is women using some form of contraception, and a substantial shift toward the use of long-acting methods,” Lawrence B. Finer, the lead author of the report, said. This means more IUDs and patches—birth control that you don’t have to remember to take, but that will protect you for years. All in all, more women are able to get the preventative care that they need, and are using it, so unintended pregnancies are decreasing.
So, as long as women are able to get the care that they need in a timely manner without issues, this number should only decrease. A happy ending for everyone! Now, if only everybody could see it from that perspective.