Sorting Out The Numbers In The Contraception Battle

CNS News posted an article today which showed that some of the numbers on contraception use being cited by President Obama and HHS Kathleen Secretary Sebelius are simply not true.

The article lists the statements made on various media outlets:

“Nearly 99 percent of all women have relied on contraception at some point in their lives–99 percent,” Obama claimed in explaining why he was moving forward with a regulation that requires all health-care plans in the United States to cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives free of charge to all women who, in the terms of the regulation, have “reproductive capacity.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius twice made the same claim—without refutation–on national television programs. So, too, did Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter.

On Feb. 10, the same day Obama made the claim at the White House, Sebelius said on PBS’s “Newshour” that contraception was “a benefit used by 99 percent of women across this country at some point in their lives.”

Also on Feb. 10, Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Cutter, made the claim in two separate appearances that bracketed the day on CNN.

In the 8:00 a.m. hour, appearing with Soledad O’Brien, Cutter said: “This is birth control. This is the pill which women have been taking for generations. It is not controversial, 99 percent of all women have taken it, 98 percent of Catholic women have taken it. The debate on this is over.”

In the 9:00 p.m. hour, appearing with Piers Morgan, Cutter said: “This … is birth control, something that women have been taking, you know, for decades, and something that is accepted in this country–99 percent of the women take birth control. It’s a little unbelievable that we are debating it.”

On March 1, HHS Secretary Sebelius appeared on John King’s CNN program and once again claimed that “99 percent of women take contraception at some point during their health lives.”

Despite the constant repetition, the numbers are simply wrong.

These are the real numbers:

According to this National Center for Health Statistics, it turns out that 19.2 percent of American women age 15-44 are not using contraception and either have never had sexual intercourse are have not in the last 3 months. This included 60 percent of the women 15-19 years old, 20.4 percent of the women 20-24 years old, 10.6 percent of the women 25-29 year old, 8.7 percent of the women 30-34 years old, 7.4 percent of the women 35-39 years old, and 8.0 percent of the women 40-44 years old.

It’s time for all of us who vote to put on our critical thinking ears whenever we listen to claims of this administration about Obamacare and any of its related issues.

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