Introduction
The Right to Contraception Act protects a person’s ability to access and engage in contraception and safeguards a healthcare provider’s ability to offer the services. Justice Thomas, in June 2022, stated that the Supreme Court must reconsider every precedent of the past, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell (Manning, 2022). He added that the Court was obliged to correct previous mistakes found in the precedents by overruling them. This paper aims to discuss the issue of contraception in the United States.
Problem Identification
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiles figures reported by the central health agencies of most states and the District of Columbia. The investigation shows that the number of people affected by the issue is only 98% of the whole population (Stark et al., 2022). The other 2% do not seem to care about the matter as it does not impact their daily lives (Stark et al., 2022). Regarding frequency, it is worth noting that in 2020, 14 women out of one thousand committed abortion (Stark et al., 2022). These figures are collected from instances that were considered legal (Stark et al., 2022). Additionally, they fail to consider other contraception methods, such as oral pills.
The decision on the issue of contraception is a serious problem as many women in the United States believe it interferes with their right to choose what happens to their bodies. Apart from helping women reduce their chances of contracting cardiovascular diseases, the ruling means that the rate of engaging in unsafe sex would be reduced as there are possible consequences they may not desire. Unplanned pregnancy is a cause of low quality of life about 40% (Stark et al., 2022). Those in college are forced to leave school, implying they get fewer top-quality jobs. The government needs to intervene and find a solution for all parties.
Problem Statement
The law is increasingly comprehended as a foundational determinant of health. The Strengthened rule of law and associated human resource capacity are crucial for accomplishing the health outcomes of the 2030 Agenda. The justice sector plays an important role in all health challenges. An example of the law’s impact on health outcomes is the overturning of a case involving permission to abort. As suggested earlier, this decision by the Supreme Court affected many lives differently. For instance, the number of abortions is projected to reduce, which means that even the 2% of complication cases will be eliminated. However, it is possible to result in more illegal and unsafe abortions, implying that more women’s lives will be in danger. The legislative bodies and the judicial system should be empowered to understand their influence on the health outcomes witnessed in society.
The relevance of my work is that it offers literature that can aid in understanding how the rule of law affects the health sector. What I intend to achieve in the analysis is to educate on both sides of the argument, particularly on the matter of the Supreme Court. Society needs to learn the positives and negatives of certain aspects of the law regarding their quality of life.
Social Determinants of Health
Economic Stability
The relationship that exists between economic stability and the issue of contraception is more pronounced by the Supreme Court’s decision. With an increase in unplanned pregnancies, women have fewer job opportunities by approximately 40%. The few cannot pay the women enough to be financially empowered and contribute properly to the economy. With an underdeveloped healthcare system due to less funding from the government, it becomes harder to achieve positive health outcomes (Wall et al., 2022). Additionally, issues such as childcare and the management of disability are highly dependent on an individual or group’s earnings. A study has proven that denying females access to contraception would mean low-income earners raise their children in undesirable conditions (Morison, 2022). The women themselves, during pregnancy, would not be able to access proper care, which might lead to health complications.
Education Access and Quality
Education access and quality are closely related to the issue of contraception. The percentage accessing college education has particularly increased each year (Morison, 2022). In 2015, the number of female students in the United States higher education comprised 32.7%, while in 2021, it was 39.1% (Morison, 2022). With restricted access to contraceptives and other methods of preventing pregnancy, this means that in five years, the figures will have dropped to about 20% (Morison, 2022). The ruling will have a long-term impact on the lives of women.
Healthcare Access and Quality
Any time a ruling is made in the Supreme Court, the impact is experienced nationally. Deciding on the issue of contraception means that many women in the United States are subjected to a negative situation where their lives are endangered. Denying them the ability to choose whether or not to keep a pregnancy suggests that in case they do not desire to give birth, they will seek unsafe methods of eliminating the pregnancy. This can be supported by a report that showed more than 43% of illegal abortions lead to health complications (Wall et al., 2022). It is proper for the government to work with the judicial system and find a compromise to ensure that fewer women have to die in search of a right they previously had.
Neighborhood and Built Environment
Unwanted and unplanned pregnancies result in fewer opportunities for employment or quality jobs, which means that women undergoing this would not be economically empowered. It is stated that 80% of all single parents are single mothers (Manning, 2022). A portion of this number results from divorce (Manning, 2022). However, another is caused by individuals being neglected by their sexual partners after becoming pregnant (Manning, 2022). Most of them are found in low-income households and cannot even access the ideal medical attention needed.
Social and Community Context
Individuals who get pregnant before marriage are mostly subjected to shame in society. They face stigma, and thus, their social life is ruined. Social interaction is important to all aspects of people’s health. Study reveals that having a strong network of support or community bonds fosters emotional and physical health (Manning, 2022). Therefore, the Supreme Court appears that it will lead to negative health outcomes.
Impact of the Issue
The National Economy
Using contraceptives ensures that a woman has a great chance of earning higher, especially in her early stages of reproductive age. During the years until about forty years, this is estimated to be 11% per year (Farah et al., 2022). Additionally, the methods of contraception are responsible for the 20% increase of females in labor force participation witnessed in the 2010s (Farah et al., 2022). Considering that one of the ways the government earns its funding is through taxes, this means that the more women work or earn higher, generates more revenue, thus, improving the national economy.
The Healthcare System
Denying women the ability to access contraceptives is likely to result in more unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Even with safety observed in the presence of a qualified healthcare professional, 2% of women still suffer complications (Farah et al., 2022). This figure is projected to rise to a minimum of 5% before the end of 2022. Currently, the country’s healthcare sector is facing a shortage of workforce (Farah et al., 2022). A rise in the complications would mean a disaster for the healthcare system that the government is trying to restore.
Ethics
There is an ethical consideration concerning how access to birth control encourages premarital and extramarital sexual activities. Additionally, a section of 64% of Christians in the United States believe that life begins with conception (Mann et al., 2022). This forces them to view the act of abortion or the use of pills and other methods as killing. Most individuals who supported the Supreme Court’s decision share similar beliefs.
Current Legislation
In July 2022, the House passed legislation to guarantee access to contraception nationally, moving over near-unanimous Republican opposition. The measure is almost certain to fail in the evenly divided Senate, 228 to 195, where the majority of the Republicans are likely to be opposed, showing no congruency (Lowe, P., & Rowlands, 20220). The vote was the latest election-year move by politicians affiliated with the Democratic Party to draw a sharp distinction from Republicans on a social issue with broad support (Lowe, P., & Rowlands, 20220). The law drew only a little more Republican support than two bills that the House passed, showing that it is inadequate. Additionally, the right is seen as new and under threat after the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Conclusion
The paper has discussed the issue of contraception in the United States. The Right to Contraception Act protects a person’s ability to access and engage in contraception and safeguards a healthcare provider’s ability to offer the services. The law is increasingly comprehended as a foundational determinant of health as it underlies other socioeconomic, political, and cultural factors related to health outcomes. The justice sector should consider people’s health in their decision-making.
References
Farah, D., de Moraes Andrade, T. R., Sansone, D., Girão, M. J. B. C., & Fonseca, M. C. M. (2022). A cost-effectiveness model of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods in the Brazilian National Health System. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 62(1), 114-121. Web.
Lowe, P., & Rowlands, S. (2022). Long-acting reversible contraception: Targeting those judged to be unfit for parenthood in the United States and the United Kingdom. Global Public Health, 1–12. Web.
Mann, E. S., Chen, A. M., & Johnson, C. L. (2022). Doctor knows best? Provider bias in the context of contraceptive counseling in the United States. Contraception, 110, 66-70. Web.
Manning, K. E. (2022). Text – H.R.8373 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): Right to Contraception Act. Congress.gov. Web.
Morison, T. (2022). Patient-provider power relations in counselling on long-acting reversible contraception: a discursive study of provider perspectives. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 1–17. Web.
Stark, E. L., Gariepy, A. M., & Son, M. (2022). What Is long-acting reversible contraception? JAMA, 328(13), 1362-1362.
Wall, K. M., Phillips, V., Xue, A., Cordes, S., Riley, H., Anderson, E., & Haddad, L. B. (2022). Interest in and uptake of postabortion long-acting reversible contraception after counseling at a free-standing Abortion Care Ambulatory Surgery Center, Atlanta, Georgia, 2017‒2018. American Journal of Public Health, 112(9), 1257-1260. Web.