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Affordability
Today, 1.8 million Texas women of childbearing age cannot afford birth control.
A woman working full-time at minimum wage earns $1,160 a month before taxes.
More effective contraceptives cost up to $1,300—or 1 month’s salary—not including the cost of doctor visits or pregnancy tests.
Low-income women are more likely to report challenges obtaining their birth control method of choice.
Due to cost barriers, only half of the Texas community college students who want to use a more effective birth control method are using one.
Nearly 50% of women of reproductive age in Dallas County don’t have health insurance.
The St. Louis CHOICE Project found that when financial barriers were removed, and both knowledge and access to Long-Acting Removable Contraceptives (LARC) were improved, 75% of women chose LARC, the most effective and most expensive forms of contraception.
Among teens, the same-day placement of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC) versus placement at a subsequent visit resulted in a cost savings of more than half to the insurance provider.
For a clinic partner that serves 30 women a day, the cost of fully stocking an on-site pharmacy comes to almost $25,000 per month
Availability
68% of women want to use more effective forms of birth control but only 30% are using them.
58% of women left their first postpartum visit with no contraceptive method at all.
66% of the women did not receive the birth control they wanted, or a prescription for it, at their first postpartum visit.
It can take a woman 7 months or more to obtain her contraceptive of choice.
It can take a Dallas woman 3-4 months to get a family planning appointment at her local clinic.
Clinics often only stock the less expensive, less effective methods of contraception, requiring multiple visits for a woman to get the birth control she wants.
Publicly supported family planning clinics in Texas met only 26% of women’s needs for contraceptive services and supplies.
Up to 50% of clients will not return for the second visit required to get an IUD or implant.
The two-visit insertion protocol disproportionately affects low-income clients.
Education
Only 40% of teen mothers finish high school, and fewer than 2% earn a college degree by age 30.
Contraceptive access has been shown to increase women’s college enrollment by 12% to 20%.
When women are able to time their pregnancies using contraception, their children are born into households with more highly educated mothers and are less likely to live in poverty.
Earning power
Access to contraception has significantly helped to increase women’s earning power and decrease the gender gap in pay.
Women aged 18 to 21 who have access to birth control earn 5% more per hour and 11% more per year by the time they’re 40. That’s an extra $2,200 annually.
Health outcomes
Intervals of less than 18 months between pregnancies are associated with a higher risk of preterm birth and associated complications.
One study estimates that preventing unintended pregnancies would reduce the proportion of short interpregnancy intervals from 35% to 23%.
Public opinion
87% of Americans believe women should have access to all forms of birth control and be able to choose the one that works best.
Counseling
Two-thirds of Texas women received inaccurate information about contraceptives from their clinician.