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Free contraceptives and STDs

An essay by Jennifer Fulwiler in the National Catholic Register criticizes the recent Obstetrics & Gynecology study (the St. Louis study) on the connection between free contraceptives and pregnancy and abortion rates.

Her critique does not focus on the methodology of the study or its specific results. Instead, she focuses on the possibility that using certain types of contraception may increase STD rates.

She does not describe the causal links, but she is implicitly floating two hypotheses:
  1. Women who rely on IUDs or hormonal implants are less likely to use condoms during sex and therefore are more likely to be exposed to STDs.
  2. Some studies indicate that hormonal implants increase the likelihood of contracting an STD. Therefore, use of hormonal implants makes STD contraction all the more likely, given hypothesis 1. 
Given what Ms. Fulwiler cites as high rates of STD contraction in the study area (St. Louis), she thinks the researchers were ethically irresponsible for promoting IUD and hormonal implant use. She does not acknowledge that the researchers did not push these methods of contraception; the women in the study were free to choose from a range of contraceptive methods.

Links:

Essay in the National Catholic Register (October 10, 2012): The Shocking Ethics Behind the Contraceptive Choice Project

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