Needs, Rights and Contraception

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/20/opinion/needs-rights-and-contraception.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Pregnancy and Prosperity,” by Jack A. Markell (Op-Ed, April 12):

Thanks to Governor Markell of Delaware for addressing how negative outcomes arise from unintended pregnancies and poor access to effective contraception. But this information is not new; our government has simply failed to listen to the needs of women.

For thousands of years, women (and men, too) have tried to control the size of their families and the spacing of their children. Oral tribal histories and ancient papyri show that reproductive control is a human need.

The United Nations has declared that reproductive rights are human rights. Yet despite this history and the high rate of unintended pregnancies and maternal mortality, the federal and state governments have neglected to provide adequate funding for good reproductive health care and sex education. Without these safeguards, women cannot chart the course of their lives.

Now, would Governor Markell kindly pass this information on to the other 49 governors and their state legislators?

VICKI ORANSKY WITTENSTEIN

Brooklyn

The writer is the author of “Reproductive Rights: Who Decides?”

To the Editor:

It’s great that Delaware is giving more women access to contraception, and Gov. Jack A. Markell is right to emphasize the effectiveness of long-acting implantable contraceptives.

But these implanted devices can be removed only by a health professional; unlike the pill or a diaphragm, the woman cannot simply decide to stop using the device. It is therefore important that teenagers and low-income women do not face barriers when they decide to stop.

If it’s free to implant it, it should be free to remove it. Perhaps each implantable device should come with a prepaid voucher for removal.

DENA S. DAVIS

Bethlehem, Pa.

The writer holds the Presidential Chair in Health (Social Sciences and Humanities) at Lehigh University.

To the Editor:

Among too many examples of attacks on women’s health, Delaware’s efforts to expand access to birth control give reproductive health advocates something to celebrate.

The physicians I represent can vouch for the fact that long-acting reversible contraceptives like intrauterine devices and implants are among the safest and most effective birth control methods, for women of all ages.

But these doctors also know all too well that misinformation about these contraceptives is widespread, and when it comes down to it, information on contraceptives should come from women’s doctors, not pundits or political noise.

I remain deeply worried about growing restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health care. But I am confident that, thanks to the work of our physicians across the country, more states will follow Delaware’s example and help women who want to choose these long-acting reversible contraceptives.

JODI MAGEE

President and Chief Executive

Physicians for Reproductive Health

New York