The Population Institute, an education and health nonprofit group, recently released its annual report on the state of women's reproductive health in the United States as a whole and on a state-by-state basis. Reproductive health is considered the ability of people to make safe and informed decisions in regard to sex and to have a safe sex life. Ratings were based on numbers of unwanted pregnancies and access to certain prenatal services. California had the highest rating, while Mississippi scored the lowest. Massachusetts was solidly in the middle, with a C grade. Overall, the United States received a C- for women's access to reproductive health. I don't think any Brandeis student would consider a C- to be an acceptable grade.

According to the report, nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and there is little chance of that number falling. Due to a slew of laws at the state level meant to restrict abortion access by either limiting how late in a pregnancy a woman can abort, or by requiring clinics to have certain building requirements and hospital admitting privileges, the number of clinics and other resources that provide reproductive health services to women have drastically fallen. The divisive issue of abortion has shut down essential services for all women.

Women's health services provide more than abortions. Most of these clinics and health centers offer birth control, family planning options and life-saving services like mammograms, sexually transmitted infection testing and pelvic exams for low-income women who otherwise would not have anywhere else to turn. While obstetricians and gynecologists are available for some of these services, they often are at a much higher cost. 

For example, in Texas, a measure that was supposed to restrict abortion access had such stringent requirements for how big clinic halls had to be or what sort of admitting privileges hospitals had to allow that all but five women's health clinics that offer reproductive services in the state are at risk for closure. Because Texas is a large state, the second largest behind Alaska, some women in rural parts of the state would have to drive for hours to get essential medical services at an affordable price.
I find it more than a little troubling that, in the name of protecting life, there are those who seemingly do not have any problems with shutting down resources that help women stay healthy. 

There is the argument that since some women's health clinics and services also provide abortions, they should be shut down. The same argument has been used to give pharmacists the right to refuse women birth control or the Plan B birth control pill for religious reasons. Birth control and Plan B help make sure that women have control over their bodies and are not at risk for unwanted pregnancy. 

Birth control is not a form of abortion, and should not be treated as such. For many women, birth control offers relief from heavy periods and terrible cramps. It is abhorrent that there are those who think that their own religious preferences should trump a woman's health needs. 

The problem of women's reproductive health and the United States' relative failings go beyond clinics that offer abortions and other services getting shut down. Look at the issue of teen pregnancy. The teen birth rate in the United States is currently around 50 births per 1000 according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Center for Disease Control reports that nearly one in 10 new mothers in the United Statews is a teenager. The United States has a higher rate of teen pregnancy than developing countries such as Croatia (32 births out of 1000), Romania (40 births out of 1000) and Bulgaria (47 births out of 1000). 

When compared to countries that have a similar gross domestic product, the United States has a teen birth rate that is nearly eight times higher. Among developed countries, the United States has among the highest rates of maternal mortality, premature births and infant mortality, according to United Nations data. We spend more money per capita on health care than any other country in the world, and yet our health services are failing, especially in the realm of reproductive health. While the Affordable Care Act included language and provisions to get rid of disparities in treatment costs for men and women and limited co-pays on birth control, that does not mean women have easier access to care.
It is shameful that this is happening in the United States, and I find it almost hypocritical. We use issues of women's health and societal treatment as justification for going to war in Afghanistan, and for having a military presence in other countries. The State Department even has a page of quotes about the treatment of Afghani women on their website to give justification for the war. How can we decry these countries for their treatment of women when we are also failing our women? 

The United States claims to be leading the way for women but we are not. Look at the income gap, the lack of paid family leave and rape culture. If we want to be the leaders for women, we need to make our country better for women. Work needs to be done, and one of the places we can start is in the realm of health care.
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