Birth control reduces abortions

Dana Milbank makes perfect sense in his Aug. 20 column responding to hard-line conservatives regarding abortion. He succinctly states that conservatives would rather fight about abortion than reduce it.

Having worked with teens and young adults for the past 15 years in the public school system, I can say with complete confidence that providing birth control, especially the two- to three-year implants such as IUDs and Implanon, are definitely reducing abortions and pregnancies in that population.

Along with college-age students, this age group is arguably the most sexually active, and most will take advantage of free or low-cost birth control. Indeed, Milbank notes that the teen birth rate in Colorado fell 40 percent, and the teen abortion rate fell by 30 percent within a four- to five-year period when the privately funded Family Planning Initiative provided thousands of implants to women at area family planning clinics, and saved the state $42.5 million in health care costs.

Based on these facts, and what I have personally witnessed, if we want to decrease abortions, we need to provide free or low-cost birth control. Unfortunately, conservatives refuse to compromise and continue to vote along party lines to defund clinics nationwide. Makes no sense.

Delilah Dixon

Spokane