A different direction...

Hello all,

Oh, how I miss my blog. This post is not going to be my typical blog post... it's actually an article I wrote for a potential job... let me know what you think.

Economy Affecting Women's Reproductive Decisions in U.S. and Abroad

Recently we’ve all become more adept at coupon clipping and bargain shopping; many of us even forego our morning Starbucks latte to save an extra four dollars. We know that the cost of education and health care is taking its toll on our wallets. Almost everyone is feeling the weight of the recession. But what about the cost of having a child?

Many women are finding the expense of having children an unwelcome financial burden in times like these. Last year, a story came out about how the drop in the economy has led to a rise in both the demand for contraception and the rate of abortions. Many women, both single and married, are deciding that in this uncertain economy, the overwhelming cost of having and raising children is too much to bear. The cost of housing, food, clothing, and in the future, education, is unfathomable for many struggling families.

Last month, a similar article came out in the Irish Times. According to the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), women in Ireland are now finding it difficult to even afford abortions. The chief executive of Dublin’s Well Woman Centre revealed that one in five of the 2,000 women who visit the center in search of pregnancy counseling services attribute their interest in termination to financial concerns.

Even women who are not pregnant are having to make choices in sacrificing their health; Dublin’s Well Woman Centre recently published their annual report which stated that the recession, which is affecting Ireland just as much as, if not more than, the U.S., is to blame for the decreased numbers of women getting full reproductive health screenings. Ultimately, this will lead to a lack of detection and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, and inevitably, a significantly increased number of infected people.

There are obvious signs of the recession, both domestically and overseas, but these more subtle effects extend beyond clipping coupons for people all over the world. When the economy is forcing women to sacrifice their health for their bank account, there is a real problem, and when the right to choose becomes the need to choose, it is clear that these financial woes have entered unwelcome territory.