For Immediate Release: June 30, 2008
Media Contact: Lisa Boyce
608-345-7549 (cell)
2007 Abortion Rates in Wisconsin Track National Decline
Improved
Access to Birth Control and Sex Education Reduces Unintended Pregnancies
Madison, WI- Across the country, abortion rates
have been on the decline and are at the lowest levels since 1974. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin is
pleased to see that statistics in our state mirror this decline and show what
increased efforts to enhance access to crucial prevention-based family planning
services can do to reduce the number of abortions. Comprehensive studies on the decline of
abortion rates consistently show that greater access to birth control and
better birth control methods lead to fewer unintended pregnancies, which in
turn means fewer abortions.
Currently, there are 600,000 Wisconsin women of reproductive age and over
300,000 of them are in need of publicly funded birth control and reproductive
health services. Over the last five
years, access to contraceptives for these women in need has greatly
increased. The BadgerCare
Plus Family Planning Program (formerly known as the
Family Planning Waiver Program), which provides comprehensive birth control
information and services, had 66,000 enrollees in 2006--its highest to date. Enhanced access to emergency contraception
thanks to over the counter status in late 2006 has also improved women's
awareness of and access to contraceptive methods that work to prevent unintended
pregnancy and abortion.
"While this decline shows we are on the right track,
more needs to be done in Wisconsin to help women access needed
health care to avoid unintended pregnancies," said Lisa Boyce, PPAWI Vice
President of Public Affairs. "Unintended
pregnancies continue to be a problem in Wisconsin, especially among women aged
20-29. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin does
more than any other organization to prevent unintended pregnancy and the need
for abortion in Wisconsin." In 30 health centers across the state, PPWI
serves over 70,000 patients each year providing access to birth control,
emergency birth control and family planning counseling. In addition, PPWI provides sex education
resources for 15,000 families in Wisconsin annually.
"The reduction in Wisconsin's abortion rate is a
reflection of what we can do when prevention based health care services like
birth control are available to every woman in need. It is important that we continue to work with
lawmakers to ensure that policies increasing access to birth control and
comprehensive sex education are at the forefront of the health care debate in Wisconsin," said Boyce. "Together we can continue to give women and
families the tools that they need to plan their pregnancies; have healthy
pregnancies; and reduce the need for abortion."
To learn more about PPAWI's prevention agenda, please
visit www.ppawi.org .
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin is the advocacy arm of Planned
Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI). The mission of PPWI is to
empower all individuals to manage their sexual and reproductive health through
direct services, education, and advocacy. www.ppawi.org