Oh.
Why are we fighting about reproductive health? One thing we know about human beings is that they have sex. And sex, without proper use of contraceptives, will lead to unintended pregnancies.
Let's consider some factual statements. The average American woman desiring two children will spend five of her reproductive years pregnant, postpartum, or trying to become pregnant.
She'll spend three decades trying to avoid pregnancy.
Fortunately, there's been tremendous progress in reproductive health. Contraceptives are safe, plentiful, and used at least once by 99 percent of women who have had intercourse. Few people are on the other side.
"It is my view that no American woman should be denied access to family-planning assistance because of her economic condition. I believe therefore that we should establish as a national goal the provision of adequate family-planning services within the next five years to all those who want them but cannot afford them. This we have the capacity to do."
The liberal firebrand who uttered these words was Richard Nixon, signing Title X into law in 1970.
Yet here we are four decades later with some legislators trying to cut off access to family-planning funding, holding the government hostage, while calling it a debate about the nation's financial health.
And we know why that is: abortion, legal since 1973. But, and this bears repeating, the government does not fund abortions.
Providing safe, quality, and affordable family planning is sound fiscal policy. The Guttmacher Institute, which studies sexual and reproductive health, determined that every $1 the government invests in family planning saves taxpayers almost $4.
