HALF OF ALL PREGNANCIES IN COLORADO STILL UNINTENDED
For Immediate Release Friday, August 7, 2009 Contact: Toni Panetta HALF OF ALL PREGNANCIES IN COLORADO STILL UNINTENDED
Moving Past Divisive Abortion Debate
Policy Recommendations Presented
by NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Foundation and the Prevention First Colorado Coalition Denver (August 7) – On Thursday an organization typically associated exclusively with abortion rights, the NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Foundation (NPCCF), celebrated the release of “Planning, Protection, Prevention: Reducing Unintended Pregnancy in Colorado” during a private reception held at 8 Rivers LoDo. The event launched the organization’s expanded public policy focus to include preventing unintended pregnancy, in an effort to reduce the need for abortion. The NPCCF is the founding member of the Prevention First Colorado Coalition, which has been studying barriers to regular use of birth control in Colorado since 2006. After the launch, Executive Director Emilie C. Ailts released the following statement: “Even with medical and scientific advances in birth control, about half of all pregnancies in Colorado are unintended. It is time to stop letting divisive rhetoric around abortion preclude necessary conversations about the need for sound policies to reduce unintended pregnancy, promote education, and improve access to birth control and prenatal care. “We know that unintended pregnancy has financial ramifications for state-run Medicaid and other welfare programs. It also is tied to inadequate prenatal care, premature and low-weight births, reduced educational attainment and employment opportunities, greater welfare dependency, and increased child abuse and neglect. These all affect the health and stability of our families and greater communities. It’s time to collaborate to find solutions to prevent unintended pregnancy. “Before the work of the Prevention First Colorado Coalition, most research on barriers to birth control use focused on affordability and accessibility. We wanted to know how women feel about the types of birth control that they use, the manner in which they use it, and the conversations they have with their partners about birth control to better understand what puts them at risk for unintended pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections. “Based on the research findings, we worked with our Prevention First Colorado Coalition partners to lay out a series of recommendations to move Colorado forward in reducing unintended pregnancy. We recommend doing the following: Declare the reduction of unintended pregnancy a public health priority Revise state laws to include health care and family planning services in comprehensive planning for cities and counties Streamline access to and use of Medicaid’s family planning services Conduct a statewide evaluation of access to condoms in pharmacies and grocery stores Provide preventive family planning services in rural and small-town communities through mobile health clinics Allow advanced practice nurses with prescriptive authority to distribute and administer prescription contraceptives Expand access to programs that help pregnant and parenting teens finish high school Aggressively implement Colorado’s comprehensive sex education law (HB 07-1292) Provide preventive reproductive health care and birth control through school-based clinics that serve adolescents Improve public awareness of the consequences of unintended pregnancy and increase contraceptive use.
“The NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Foundation and the Prevention First Colorado program are here as resources for others who are serious about reducing unintended pregnancy in Colorado. Working together, we can help women, girls, and families protect their health and their future.” ### For more information, contact Toni Panetta, political director at the NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Foundation, 626-676-3482. NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) organization, is the tax-exempt entity that supports educational programs to promote access to the full range of reproductive health care options necessary to prevent unintended pregnancy, bear healthy children, or access safe, legal abortion. Prevention First Colorado is a program of the NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Foundation whose primary focus is helping Colorado women and girls reduce unintended pregnancy, thereby increasing their health and economic self-sufficiency. The Prevention First Colorado Coalition is a collaboration of organizations that share a common belief that every woman and man in the state should have the appropriate education and knowledge to make effective family-planning choices to create healthy women, children, and families. The Coalition supports unified efforts to prevent unintended pregnancy and increase contraceptive use through policy, education and research. www.PreventionFirstColorado.org
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