KOAA News5 reported the Colorado Family Planning Initiative, which funded family Title X family planning clinics from 2009 to 2015, saw births among 15- to 19-year-old women in Colorado during
Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo
In this Aug. 26, 2016, file photo, a one-month dosage of hormonal birth control pills is displayed in Sacramento, Calif.
A new study shows that when people in Colorado had access to free and low-cost birth control through a statewide program, the percentage of students who left high school before graduating decreased by 14 percent, according to a new CU Boulder-led study published in the journal Science Advances.
It also showed increased access to birth control led to lower birth and abortion rates. The study, which used U.S. Census data to track more than 170,000 women for up to seven years, suggests that better access to contraception improves women’s lives, according to author and assistant professor of sociology Amanda Stevenson.
Researchers found that access to family planning services increased young women s chances of completing high school
Certain US states are, however, currently considering cutting spending on contraceptives
New research published in
Science Advances looked at how family planning programmes can increase young women s chances of completing high school.
The study followed more than 170 000 women for seven years. The researchers examined the data of young women attending high school in the United States.
Hot debate around contraception
The research centred around the Colorado Family Planning Initiative, a programme launched in 2008, that expanded access to more forms of contraception in the US state of Colorado. The programme provided inexpensive forms of birth control like condoms and oral contraceptives, and more costly long-acting reversible contraception, including intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants.
Expanded access to contraceptives led to increased high school graduation rates in Colorado
Study of Colorado Family Planning Initiative
A new University of Colorado Boulder study finds high school graduation rates increased in Colorado when access to birth control was expanded. Researchers studied the impact of the Colorado Family Planning Initiative, which funded family Title X family planning clinics from 2009 to 2015. A 27 million dollar grant allowed the clinics to provide free contraception to more young women.
and last updated 2021-05-06 09:25:46-04
A new University of Colorado Boulder study finds high school graduation rates increased in Colorado when access to birth control was expanded.
Colorado has seen an uptick in high school graduation rates in female students since the implementation of a statewide program to expand access to birth control among teens and young adults, a new study shows.