Facts on Texas Women & Contraception
- Nationally, 6 in 10 women seeking abortions had unintended pregnancies as a result of contraceptive failure.1
- 2,291,830 Texas women are in need of contraceptive services and supplies.2
- 56.2 % out of the over 2.2 million Texas women who lack access to contraception are in need of publicly funded contraception services.2
- Title X of the Public Health Services Act is the nation's only family planning program. Texas clinics supported by Title X help prevent 62,500 unintended pregnancies a year.2
- Texas high schools do not require students to take sex education classes.3
- Texas sex education classes are required to emphasize abstinence but are directed to provide only basic information about contraception.3
- Emergency contraception (EC) is 75-89% effective in preventing pregnancy when taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse.4
- EC is estimated to have prevented 51,000 abortions in the U.S. in 2000.5 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimates that widespread access to EC could reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions in the U.S by 50%.6
- EC is not available over the counter, nor does Texas law require insurance companies to cover it.7
- In 2003, the Texas Legislature repealed Texas' popular new Contraceptive Equity. The law required insurance companies to cover all FDA approved contraceptive methods if they cover other prescriptions. Insurance companies are no longer required to cover contraception in all their insurance plans.7
- 58% of Texans surveyed support greater access to EC for Texas women.8
- "Facts in Brief: Induced Abortions," Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1996.
- "Contraception Counts,"Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2004.
- "State Fact in Brief: Sex and STD/HIV Prevention," Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2004.
- "Emergency Contraception," Planned Parenthood, 2004.
- "Emergency Contraception (EC) Played Key Role in Abortion Rate Declines," Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2003.
- "ACOG Supports Safety and Availability of Over-the-Counter Emergency Contraception," American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), News Release. Feb. 28, 2001.
- "2003 TARAL Choice Voter Guide," TARAL, www.taral.org
- Scripps Howard Texas Poll, 2001.
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