Applaud State for Reducing Teen Birthrates by Offering Free Birth Control

Applaud State for Reducing Teen Birthrates by Offering Free Birth Control

Excerpt: The state of Colorado recently employed an initiative to offer free birth control to women from low-income backgrounds. Join in applauding state officials from Colorado for the program's success in lowering teen birthrates and abortion rates.

Target: Governor John Hickenlooper

Goal: Applaud officials from the state of Colorado for offering free birth control and reducing teen birthrates and abortion rates statewide

In the past month, the United States has series of depressing events with regard to women's rights and women's health. With the Supreme Court of the United States ruling 5-4 that the religious beliefs of the executives of private companies can determine the health care benefits provided to women, bipartisan issues of whether and when the government should be involved in providing health care have caused flare-ups often based on opinions rather than facts.

The fact of the matter is: providing birth control to women is a matter of public health. And the facts clearly show that providing birth control access to women, especially women who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds, benefits everyone. Over the last five years, a program known as the Colorado Family Planning Initiative was put in place to provide birth control to low-income women across the state of Colorado.

_Vox.com_ reports that over this time period, the rate of teen abortions fell by 35%, and the teen birthrate fell by 40%. These numbers are certainly influenced by a variety of factors, including an overall drop in the rate of teen pregnancies in the United States. However, the timing the Colorado initiative and the decrease in unplanned pregnancies suggests the program is working. Not only has the program resulted in a better life for many Colorado women, it has also resulted in saving a lot of money. State officials report that programs like Women Infants, and Children (WIC), which provided education and support to low-income families, has seen nearly a quarter fewer cases, and the state suggests a savings of over $40 million in expenditures associated with teenage births.

Join in praising Governor John Hickenlooper for the success of this initiative and ask that other lawmakers take heed of this success story when considering their own position on laws regarding women's health.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Governor Hickenlooper,

The past month has seen backward progress when it comes to the fate of women's health in the United States. With the Supreme Court allowing employer's to choose whether they will allow their insurance providers to cover certain forms of birth control, we have regressed to a state where religion is not free, but rather controlling of women.

I thank you very much for your efforts in Colorado to ensure that women's health care needs are being met. I applaud you for the success of the Colorado Family Planning Initiative in the state of Colorado. When young women from low-income backgrounds can receive education about sex and measures to prevent unwanted pregnancies, they have a better chance of a healthy and fulfilling life. I urge you to continue to uphold such stellar policies in the state of Colorado and truly hope that they may serve as a model for other legislators in the United States.

Yours Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

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