The Family Research Center (FRC) is reporting that the study, conducted by a Washington University team, was based on data collected from more than 9,000 women in St. Louis, many of them uninsured. The women were provided their choice of contraceptive at no cost. Most selected the costlier implanted options and experienced fewer pregnancies. After tracking the women for two years, the study found that the number of births were 4.4 to 7.5 abortions per 1,000 women in the study compared to 13.5 to 17 abortions per 1,000 women in the same city.
These results were immediately trumpeted by the White House and those involved in promoting the so-called "war on women" and used as justification for forcing even religious employers to cover the cost of contraception.
However, Jeanne Monahan, Director of FRC's Center for Human Dignity, says the report is in direct conflict with much larger studies conducted in Sweden, the U.K., and Spain, which show that contraceptive use actually leads to higher pregnancy and abortion rates because it encourages riskier sexual behavior.
"In this instance, Washington University chose women who wanted reversible contraceptive methods, but didn't compare their data with that of a neutral control group," the FRC explains.
In fact, Monahan says one could even conclude that the President's HHS mandate might ultimately cause more unplanned pregnancies since it orders health plans to cover contraceptives that these researchers claim are less effective.
"Of course, one thing that is effective about Obama's mandate is how thoroughly it tramples religious freedom," the FRC writes. "And if that continues, the birth control may be free, but Americans won't be!"
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