Ever wondered why there are children living out of foster homes, or women living on the street because their religious parents couldn’t stay true to “Only God Can Judge?” It’s because although sex is free, protecting yourself from the consequences of sex…isn’t.
A group of physicians at the University of Tennessee have conducted a study revealing the disturbing news that contraceptives actually cost more in low-income neighborhoods.
Researcher Dr. Nikki Zite told Huffington Post, “We saw several contraceptive options that are more expensive in lower income areas, and that expense may limit access.”
Researchers cross-referenced the price of seven different forms of contraception between wealthy neighborhoods and low-income neighborhoods and found that almost all of the contraceptive prices were more in low-income neighborhoods. The discovery was released at the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists annual clinical meeting in New Orleans.
Dr. Jefferey Peipert, vice chairman of clinical research at Washington University, questioned the findings of the Tennessee physicians, stating it will only impact those who have to pay out of pocket for their prescriptions.
Although the physicians at the University of Tennessee provided us with the revelation, they were unable to give a reason … and I too was flabbergasted at the new information.
I remember seeing pro-life advocators picket abortion clinics and throwing pictures of aborted fetuses on my computer screen, but never have I witnessed a poster that read “Have your baby. We will support you,” with a pull-off of the sign holders’ home number and car pool schedule attached to it.
I remember the judgement placed on teens who put themselves first and ended an unplanned pregnancy, and the judgement struggling families are faced with when they have more children then they have beds in their homes.
The very neighborhoods that rely on the government assistance some want to rid the world of, the same neighborhoods with the highest rate of unemployment and lack of health insurance, and the same damn neighborhoods who seem unable to obtain redemption, have limited access to contraceptives, including but not limited to condoms, the pill, and transvaginal options.
Dare I say – the poor will forever be poor and the corner boys, gang bangers, trigger happy mofo’s, and teen moms will forever exist because life is not affordable.
The cycle within low-income neighborhoods is that of people who are not given the choices of the wealthy. I’m not talking about driving Bentleys or vacationing in Madrid. I’m talking about the option of healthy eating, secure homes, lucrative communities, education, and even the choice of preventing pregnancy and the transmittal of sexual diseases.
It’s ironic how death is less expensive. Abortions are frowned upon because it is “murder,” but with contraceptives at high prices in low-income neighborhoods, our next headline will read “Man Robs & Kills For Plan B.”
Maybe I am digging too deep into this. Maybe you aren’t digging deep enough. Either way, someone other than Planned Parenthood better serve up some contraceptive freebees.
-Nyasia D.
