Prior to 2008, unwanted pregnancies and abortion rates were at all-time highs in Colorado even though the state had been providing low-income households with free contraception. The free contraception had been a part of a program that had been in place for nearly four decades without showing any signs that it was impacting the rate of unintended pregnancies in teens and young women. At that time, 60% of the pregnancies of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 24 were reportedly unintended.
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Things Started to Change in 2008
In 2008, the state received a sizable donation from an anonymous individual that was earmarked for family planning services. The influx of unexpected funding allowed the state to offer more choices in the way of contraception. For the first time in the state’s history, they could offer IUDs, implants, and other types of long-term reversible contraception products. These were options that hadn’t previously been available to women from low-income households. Within five years of making these products available to low-income households, the rates of teen pregnancies and abortions in the state dropped by half.
Another reason for the change in abortion and unintended pregnancy rates is that the state changed how Colorado health officials inquired about pregnancies. The change in reporting resulted in significant drops in the statistics for both pregnancies and abortions. Between 2009 and 2017, the number of unintended pregnancies among 15 to 19-year-olds dropped by 57% and the number of abortions dropped by 64% in total. In practical terms, that means new births among teens dropped from 37.5 to 16.1 per 1,000 teens.
These results are mimicked in other states where access to abortion services has become more restricted by state laws. Instead, those states focus more on family planning initiatives that ensure more pregnancies result from intended actions. Colorado’s own Department of Public Health and Environment says this type of initiative is responsible for two-thirds of the decline in abortions in the state. They say the state has also saved over $70 million that would otherwise have been paid out in public assistance to new mothers. The state predicts they will continue seeing a decline in the coming years.
Colorado Offers a Full Range of Services
The state does much more than limit access to abortion or provide more advanced forms of contraceptives. Additionally, they raise awareness and provide greater access to information about family planning services. Those services include providing young mothers with prenatal care and healthy delivery services to ensure their babies are born healthy and safe.
The greater access to information has helped women nationwide in terms of making them more aware of their choices. That’s why teen birth rates have been consistently dropping since 2009. Nationwide, the rate of teen pregnancies has dropped by half over the past decade, leveling off to a rate of 18.8 births per 1,000 teens. When looking at Colorado’s statistics, it was also found that the decline has been consistent among teens and women in all racial or ethnic groups.
Colorado Changed Their Strategy
The state of Colorado found that an anonymous $28 million donation could go a long way when applied to reproductive health services. The donation led to the founding of the Colorado Family Planning Initiative, which expanded access to family health services. With the increased funding, women from low-income families and those without health insurance were able to gain access to a better quality of medical care. This included the availability of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), which can cost up to $800 per device.
The increased funding made these devices available to women who would otherwise not have been able to afford them. The difference these types of devices make is in their convenience and ease of use. Once inserted, a LARC device can last for up to a decade without a need for additional treatment. They are also 99% effective in preventing pregnancies.
In addition to supplying LARC devices, the large donation made it possible for Colorado to hire and train caregivers, create outreach programs, and open new clinics throughout the state. Before long, their BeforePlay campaign helped to provide LARC devices to more than 45,000 women. As a result, birth rates dropped by 30% and abortion rates were reduced by 41%. Repeat teen births among teen girls who had delivered two or more babies also dropped by 39% overall.
These changes provided more options for teens and young women, helping them to avoid the challenges that go along with unintended pregnancies. As a result, more girls stayed in school and more young women went on to obtain college degrees. By increasing access to information and raising awareness about unintended pregnancies, Colorado is hoping to help more young women make better choices.
