Free Birth Control Pills in America?
Health experts in America are discussing whether birth control should be free or not. While health centers are giving away condoms for free, Americans still have to pay for birth control pills. But that may change. Doctors and other health officials are discussing whether this kind of family planning should be made free.
The pill was first introduced fifty years ago. With it came the birth rate sank in countries around the world and the number of unexpected pregnancies went down. It also helped women escape from poverty and poor living conditions. For a long time Americans only got it for free if they had a health insurance that paid for it.
Today the pill is the most common form of birth control in the USA. More than 45 million female Americans between 15 and 45 have taken it at least sometime during their life. But despite this fact there are still many unwanted babies and about 4,000 abortions every day.
Those in favor of the proposal say that, if offered, the number of unexpected teenage pregnancies would go down dramatically. Most of the females on college campuses are in favor of it. Young people still depend on their parents for money. Sometimes it is difficult to get an appointment at the doctor’s and get a prescription. If students could get pills on campus they could just go to the health care centre and get them. In other cases they just don’t want to tell their parents they are taking the pill.
Those against the suggestion say that it would lead to sexual promiscuity and diseases might be transmitted more easily. Not all doctors agree with the idea either. The pill must be taken correctly if it should work. And it also has a number of side effects that doctors warn about. Some women put on weight or get nervous quickly.
Some health experts talk about other ways of avoiding pregnancies. In their opinion it would be better to teach young women about fertility and when they can get pregnant.
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Words
- abortion = a medical operation that ends the life of an unborn baby
- appointment = date and time for a meeting
- avoid = here: not to become pregnant
- birth rate = the number of babies that are born for every one thousand people a year
- campus = the area and buildings of a university or college
- common = widespread
- despite = even though
- disease = illness
- either = also
- escape = get away from
- female = woman
- fertility = when a woman is able to have a baby
- health care center = place where you go to for medical treatment and to get medicine
- health insurance = you pay a company money and it pays for the doctor, operations, medicine and other things related to your health
- in favor of = to be for something
- introduce = start
- offer = give
- official = a person who has a high position in an organization
- poverty = the situation of being poor
- pregnancy = if you are expecting a baby
- prescription = a piece of paper on which a doctor writes down which medicine an ill person should take; then you go to the pharmacist and get it
- promiscuity = to have many sexual partners
- proposal = plan, suggestion
- put on weight = to become heavier
- side effects = a, mostly bad, effect that a drug has on your body apart from curing pain or an illness
- suggestion = plan
- transmit = spread from one person to another
- unexpected = something that you do not expect
- whether = if
- while = although