Missouri residents are concerned about the future availability of birth control, according to a new survey of state residents in late March.
The survey of 1,000 Missouri residents was conducted as part of the Missouri-based The Right Time initiative. Through this effort, health centers across the state are improving access to contraception by providing free or low-cost birth control in 31 locations, according to a statement.
“Contraception is basic health care,” said Michelle Trupiano, Missouri Family Health Council executive director.
“The results of this survey make clear that many Missourians are worried about their ability to access this basic health care in the future. We will continue to work with partners statewide to ensure equitable access to quality contraceptive health information and services.”
The initiative is focused on offering patients same-day access to all methods of birth control and has resources that make it easier for people in Missouri, including those who are uninsured or underinsured, to receive quality contraceptive care.
“Missourians concerned with the ability to get birth control in the future will have an opportunity to enshrine reproductive freedom, including birth control, into the state Constitution, if enough signatures are gathered to put the issue on the ballot,” Trupiano noted.
Approximately six in ten (59%) are concerned about elected officials in the state enacting laws that restrict people from getting birth control. In addition, almost one-third of survey respondents (31%) believe that birth control will be more difficult to get in two years than it is now.
Although 85% of Missouri residents are supportive of people 18-35 having access to all methods of birth control – including 85% of Republicans, 92% of Democrats, and 84% of Independents – about one-third (31%) of survey respondents say that policymakers in Missouri are not supportive of birth control, according to the survey data.
The survey also shows that there is widespread support for greater access to birth control, including one policy advancing in the legislature with bipartisan support. Fully 77% of respondents, believe patients should be able to get a yearlong supply of birth control, (including 75% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats, and 74% of Independents).
“The Right Time remains fully committed to reducing barriers to contraception and improving access to reliable and relatable information about birth control,” Kathleen Holmes, vice president of strategic initiatives at Missouri Foundation for Health, said.
“Our simple belief is that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue the future they want, including if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant.”
Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, talk about how the data gathered from this survey was “not surprising at all.”
“We’ve always known that in states like Missouri, where sexual reproductive healthcare are constantly being attacked, that it wasn’t going to stop at abortion, and that birth control is the…most realistic next step and so I think that folks are concerned about the state specifically legislators attacking birth control and eliminating access for folks,” McNicholas said.
On other issues regarding contraceptive access in the data gathered by Initiative: nearly eight in ten (77%) are supportive of allowing pharmacists to prescribe contraception. McNicholas talked about how birth control methods are still currently legal but should be made more accessible.
“Right now, in the state of Missouri, all birth control methods are legal and available, and the Right Time Initiative partners with organizations like ourselves across the state to help provide access to all of those methods for folks who have financial insecurities and can’t afford the methods or are either uninsured or underinsured,” she said.
The data went on to report that early eight in 10 (78%) think emergency rooms in Missouri should make contraception available to survivors of domestic and sexual violence or human trafficking (including 82% of Republicans, 87% of Democrats and 72% of Independents).
McNicholas said there may be steps taken to eliminate that access and make it more difficult for folks to plan the pregnancies and families that they want in the future.
“There are many reasons people use birth control, pregnancy prevention certainly is one of them, but most of our birth control methods are also really good at some non-contraceptive benefits, like cancer prevention,” she said explained.
IUDs: Advantageous contraceptive or just agonizing?
“Although IUDs are incredibly effective and have increased in popularity over the last 10 years, it is true that the insertion process for some people can be uncomfortable or even painful. It’s important that as providers, we acknowledge that and we provide space too, for patients to tell us what they need in that insertion experience,” said McNicholas.
“We are going live with a new service at Planned Parenthood, where we offer to patients, from [having] their IUD inserted with the assistance of sedation, medication. We recognize that the sexual health experience, the pelvic exam, all the steps of coming to see an OBGYN or, or a sexual health provider can be really anxiety provoking and for some people it can be really, really overwhelming.”
According to the CDC, 21% of women began using an IUD as their preferred contraceptive method between 2015 and 2019, but the IUD insertion or removal process can be uncomfortable or even painful for some patients.
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri began offering routine sedation for patients seeking intrauterine device (IUD) insertion and other sexual and reproductive health services at the Fairview Heights health center on April 2.
“It is all our responsibility to ensure that the community knows that right now birth control is available, it is not an abortion medication. Birth control is pregnancy prevention and doesn’t interrupt an existing pregnancy, but that they are right to be worried about what the extremist legislators might be doing next to limit access to this important medical intervention,” said McNicholas.
