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Colorado Birth Control Program Blocked Despite Apparent Success

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E

EdibleKnife

Member
Back in 2009, an anonymous donor committed $23 million to an initiative to provide cut rate birth control, both IUDs and other contraceptive implants, to people at family planning clinics across the state. With a rise in the percentage of young women receiving the contraception and a drop in unplanned pregnancies and welfare spending over the course of 5 years, the program was seemingly a success.

Washington Post said:
The state attributes three-quarters of the overall decline in the Colorado teen birthrate to the program and said its success had a ripple effect.

With fewer unplanned pregnancies, the teen abortion rate fell by 35 percent between 2009 and 2012 in those counties where the initiative is in place.

The state also spent less on food programs for low-income mothers and children; infant enrollment in WIC supplemental nutrition program declined 23 percent between 2008 and 2013.

The governor’s office said the state saved $42.5 million in health-care expenditures associated with teen births.

For every dollar spent on the contraceptives, the state saved $5.68 in Medicaid costs, according to the Denver Post.
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However, many conservative religious groups were in opposition to the program and its results.

Washington Post said:
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of public policy for the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family, told the Denver Post she was skeptical of the state’s claim that increased access to contraception caused the decline in birthrates. “What we have seen over many years is that access to contraception does not equal fewer unintended pregnancies and fewer abortions,” Earll said. “Availability of contraception leads to increased sexual activity, which leads to unintended pregnancies and abortions.”

Bob Enyart, a spokesman for Colorado Right to Life, told the BBC offering contraception to teens sends the message that you can “have all the sex you want.”

“When you teach children that they’re animals — that they have evolved from pigs and dogs and apes — then they act like animals,” Enyart said.
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Link

Now, in a recent Senate committee vote to approve if funding the program should continue, Colorado conservatives chose to scrap the program.

MSNBC said:
As one local report noted, “Opponents of the bill worried that increasing access to birth control would not have a net public health gain because it would increase promiscuity.” One GOP lawmaker accused the policy of “subsidizing sex.” Another said of the program, “Does that allow a lot of young women to go out there and look for love in all the wrong places?”

The amazing thing to remember here is that Colorado wasn’t talking about experimenting with a new policy measure; state lawmakers were considering whether to keep an existing policy in place. That’s important because, in this case, Colorado already knows the program was working.

In other words, Republican critics of the idea raised concerns that the policy might fail – which might be a credible point were it not for the fact that the policy has been in place for five years, offering real-world proof that those concerns are unfounded.
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The program and its results:
Washington Post
NBC 9News
NPR

Death of the program:
MSNBC
Durango Herald
RH Reality Check
 
A

Averon

Member
Not surprised at all. For people who have huge issues with birth control, facts and evidence matters none.
 
X

Xe4

Banned
So they bitch about abortions.
Then abortions are reduced due to birth control program.
Program gets cut by the same people bitching about abortions.
'Merica
 
P

Patryn

Member
They are set in their beliefs, and there is literally no amount of evidence that would make them change their mind.

Wasn't there some study recently about groups that were presented evidence that contradicted their deeply-held beliefs actually doubled-down on what they believed rather than changing their mind based on the factual evidence?
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
Xe4 said:
So they bitch about abortions.
Then abortions are reduced due to birth control program.
Program gets cut by the same people bitching about abortions.
'Merica
Click to expand...
It's sad that this is dictated by how large their lobby must be rather than arguments, now.
 
S

Somnid

Member
So angry. It's not even that they have a counter argument, just "I don't like those facts so clearly they aren't true." Focus on the Family is the bane of Colorado.
 
T

thefro

Member
You'd think that "Right to Life" wouldn't oppose something that would greatly reduce the number of people getting abortions.

I mean, I understand the theology for some people opposing artificial birth control outright but I imagine some of these folks probably think it's ok if you're married or something goofy.
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
Reject empiricism brehs. Was going to make a similar thread about a positive outcome after a similar initiative in Richmond CA policing, should help brighten GAF's morning a bit.
 
A

Ayato Kanzaki

Member
Republicans.

If I could think that they're covert agents from some foreign nation, out to undermine and cripple the US, my faith in humanity would be restored a little.

How depressing...
 
W

weremichael

Member
I want to make a marijuana/lowered sperm count joke; however, I find Focus on the Family to be such a horrifying influence on Colorado (and the US) that I can't. I don't get how people don't acknowledge that overpopulation is the biggest concern on this planet. Greedy bastards.
 
P

Patryn

Member
weremichael said:
I want to make a marijuana/lowered sperm count joke; however, I find Focus on the Family to be such a horrifying influence on Colorado (and the US) that I can't. I don't get how people don't acknowledge that overpopulation is the biggest concern on this planet. Greedy bastards.
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Because since God gave us this planet and made us, it's impossible that we could ruin it.

I think their thinking is something like that.
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
Slayven said:
They care about the kids until they have to feed them.
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In this case "caring" is being salty as fuck over 16 year olds busting care-free nuts into latex. And their daughters *gulp* enjoying it instead of fearing it. It's just too icky to think about.
 
F

Forkball

Member
I posted an article here on GAF about the triumphs of this program. It's sad to see it go down after it was proven to be a massive success. Hopefully this is just a small bump in the road and the program will be reinstated.
 
M

MJPIA

Member
http://durangoherald.com/apps/pbcs....0429564&template=mobileart&template=mobileart

“Coloradans oppose the imposition of these kinds of mandates on us as individuals. There are religious reasons,” said Michael Norton, an attorney representing Colorado Family Action, who once served as the U.S. attorney for Colorado. “These contraceptives are abortifacients, that is they cause the demise of an implanted or fertilized human embryo.”
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I feel like I should say sarcastic in response to this but nope, I got nothing.

Take this proven program away that prevents unwanted pregnancies, do as much s possible to prevent them from getting abortions and then complain about use of taxpayers money being used to raise the kid because the mother can't support the baby by herself.
 
S

Saganator

Member
As a Coloradoan, I am pretty disappointed in my state. Colorado isn't even that religious, but we do have a lot of gun nuts, and after the state passed some control regulations, there were recalls and the GOP won some seats because gun nuts came out in droves during mid-terms and voted a bunch of quacks into office, now we end up getting shit like this.

Been hearing a lot about conservative politicians screwing up stuff in other states, but until now, we've been pretty safe from that. This is what happens people don't vote in mid-terms.
 
M

mackattk

Member
Not enough facepalms in the world exist for stupidity like this.

How fucking greedy and self-righteous can these people be there really is no down-sides to this program other than personal beliefs. If you personally don't agree with it, then don't take subsidized contraceptives. If all sins are equal in the eyes of God and sex before marriage is a sin, they will be sinning anyway.
 
Y

YoungHav

Banned
More poor, impoverished unwed mothers who's kids will grow up with less surface area in their brains and will vote Republican one day.
 
V

Violence Jack

Member
Gah, and this is the state that I'll probably be moving to soon. The apparent lack of logic in this is baffling.

I don't want to hear them complain about a damn thing in regards to welfare ever again if they vote to do shit like this.
 
A

Air

Banned
I remembered reading a story for this program when it first came up. I think any reasonable person would have known that access to contraceptives would have led to lower birth rates; however, the GOP are not reasonable.
 
D

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
Paskil said:
Facts have an inherent liberal bias.
Click to expand...

It's pretty much come down to this, hasn't it.

The Republican party proves once again they are literally dangerous to America. It's disgusting.
 
F

FyreWulff

Member
Surprise, super conservatives are more about making sex as pointlessly dangerous as possible than they are about reducing abortions.

It's never been about abortions. It's always been about controlling women.

mackattk said:
Not enough facepalms in the world exist for stupidity like this.

How fucking greedy and self-righteous can these people be there really is no down-sides to this program other than personal beliefs. If you personally don't agree with it, then don't take subsidized contraceptives. If all sins are equal in the eyes of God and sex before marriage is a sin, they will be sinning anyway.
Click to expand...

Their whole damn goal is to make sex only "possible" as long as you get married via their church. They intentionally want to make it as dangerous as possible otherwise to artifically add value to marriages. If we had actual, total free access to birth control for everyone, we'd probably see abortions drop to single digits per state per year.

But no, that'd be too fucking easy, and because it's not God's Solution, they have to impose their sex fears on everyone else to keep abortions high because they've worked to remove access to every other preventative option.
 
M

mackattk

Member
RHRealityCheck

“I am the first woman in my family not to experience an unintended pregnancy,” said Klaira Lerma at the news conference organized by supporters of the bill Wednesday. “Consequently, I am the first woman in my family to obtain a bachelor’s degree. I am also the first woman in my family to obtain a master’s degree. These things are connected.”
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Yeah, I can imagine it being pretty fucking hard to be successful educationally and professionally when you are a teen tied down with a child. Not only are these conservatives making the economy worse, they are also ruining lives.
 
E

EdibleKnife

Member
mackattk said:
Yeah, I can imagine it being pretty fucking hard to be successful educationally and professionally when you are a teen tied down with a child. Not only are these conservatives making the economy worse, they are also ruining lives.
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"Successful" for a lot of the conservatives speaking on this seems to mean fitting nicely into the box of "mother & wife". Even better if you get there the 'biblical way'. For them, I don't doubt that anyone who uses birth control, has a healthy sex life and doesn't have to be bogged down by teen mistakes is a harlot.
 
C

cdyhybrid

Member
GOP: We need to stop abortions and welfare spending! Let's cut this program that lowers abortions and welfare spending!
 
W

Wilsongt

Member
Not surprised anymore. Conservatives are far to worried about how many unwed penises end up in unwed vaginas producing babies that could be potentially born into poverty.

They care about a baby from sperm/egg to birth, and as soon as the baby is born they care fuck all about it.
 
P

PlayALLtheGames

Banned
Sounds like the program will find funding elsewhere, so this doesn't mean the end of it.

And those Republicans who killed it should be taken out in public and lashed.
 
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