State Ranked No. 1 in Contraceptive Access
California ranked first in a state-by-state analysis of contraceptive availability, according a report released Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute, the Contra Costa Times reports. The report examined access to contraception, funding for sex counseling and support from state lawmakers.
According to the institute, California's teen pregnancy rate -- the seventh highest in the nation -- declined by 39% between 1992 and 2000.
In addition, the report found that 59% of pregnancies in California resulted in love births and that 26% of pregnancies ended in abortion. The remainder ended in miscarriages.
The institute also commended the state's comprehensive sex educations program and required health insurance coverage of contraception (Kuo, Contra Costa Times, 3/1).
The analysis is available online.
KQED's "The California Report" on Wednesday reported on California's ranking in the study. The segment includes comments from former Gov. Pete Wilson (R) (Schmitz, "The California Report," KQED, 3/1). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
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