Two Independent Studies: US Taxpayers Spend $11 Billion Annually on Unintended Pregnancies

 

The Guttmacher Institute, which was designated an official Collaborating Center for Reproductive Health in 2009 by the World Health Organization, released a statement that the June issue of their journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, will publish 3 articles: “The Public Costs of Births Resulting from Unintended Pregnancies: National and State-Level Estimates,” “Unintended Pregnancy and Taxpayer Spending,” and “Unintended Pregnancy Rates at the State Level.”

The first two studies independently came to the same rough estimate of $11 billion taxpayer dollars each year for unintended pregnancies, while the third publication provides first-ever estimates of unintended pregnancies by state. Guttmacher Institute cautioned that $11 billion is a conservative estimate and only includes publicly funded health insurance costs associated with pregnancy and the baby’s first year of health care bills.

It is clear that a significant amount of taxpayer money could be saved by collectively reducing unintended pregnancies in all states. Several politicians have recently attacked Planned Parenthood and women’s reproductive rights in the name of “debt reduction,” by limiting funding and passing legislation making abortions close to impossible to attain in some states. Yet these three journal articles, which were peer-reviewed and independently conducted, provide good evidence that debt is actually increased by restricting women’s rights.

Read the full statement here.

 

 

Tags: $11 billion, abortion, abortions, federal law, planned parenthood, research, state rights, taxes, unintended pregnancy, US tax dollars, women's rights