More than 19 million women of reproductive age living in the United States need publicly funded contraception and live in the contraceptive desert. Living in a contraceptive desert means they do not have reasonable access in their area to health centers that offer a wide variety of contraceptive methods. About 1.3 million of these women live in areas that do not have a single health center that offers complete methods. For all of these women, getting contraception meant having to do more than just show up for appointments. They need to find a caregiver, take a break from work, or travel long distances to access their preferred method of contraception.
We know that there are women in the United States who are not entitled to publicly funded contraception, but are still dependent on the same health centers. Whether it’s for convenience, privacy reasons, or cases of forced reproduction, women with insurance can still seek contraception at health centers that primarily cater to low-income women. It only tells part of the story to say that 19 million women live in the contraceptive desert.
The idea of a contraceptive desert boils down to the distinction between availability and access. This is another form of the equality and justice debate, showing that expanding coverage doesn’t directly translate into being able to use it. Although this idea persists on a number of issues, it has a detrimental impact on the reproductive rights of women, especially those on low incomes.
While the rate of unplanned pregnancies continues to decline, in Texas it is declining at a much slower rate. Texas also has the highest rate of recurrent teen pregnancy. The reason? It is one of the few states that requires parental consent for child contraception, even if you are already a parent; which means that you are legally responsible for another human being but cannot make legitimate medical decisions for yourself. Most schools in Texas teach only sexual abstinence or have no sex education at all, so many teens don’t realize how soon they will be able to get pregnant again.
Planned Parenthood and many other women’s health clinics are struggling to stay open and provide this much-needed service. Victories, such as Whole Women’s Health v Hellerstedt, show that justice can prevail and create equality and justice for all. Now more than ever people need to stand up and remind government officials that they are working for the people, not to serve their own agenda.