More women began using long-acting reversible contraceptives after the 2016 election, a new study finds.
Researchers say there was a 22 percent rise in women who had intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants inserted in the 30 days after President Donald Trump was elected.
During his campaign, and while in office, the president vowed to roll back the birth control mandate nationwide and to cut federal funding for contraceptives and abortions.
The team, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, believes this led many women to fear they wouldn’t have have access to birth control and wanted to ensure they were protected against unwanted pregnancies.
A new study has found a nearly 22 percent increase in the use of intrauterine devices and contraceptive implants in the 30 days after President Donald Trump’s election
‘I find the magnitude to be impressive,’ lead author Dr Lydia Pace, an associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told DailyMail.com
‘It shows women’s contraceptive choice are or can be influenced by political events.’
For the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine, the team looked at women between ages 18 and 45 covered under private health insurance.
Researchers studied more than 3.4 million women in 2015 and more than 3.2 million women in 2016 and their use of LARCs in the 30 days before and after the 2016 election.
Then, they compared the results with the same time period in 2015.
They found that, in 2015, about 12.9 per 100,000 women had an LARC inserted in the 30 days before November 8 and 13.7 per 100,000 had one inserted in the following 30 days.
But, in 2016, the rate of insertion in the 30 days prior to November 8 was 13.4 per 100,000 women compared to 16.4 per 100,000 in the subsequent 30 days.
This means there was a nearly 22 percent increase in the use of IUDs and contraceptive implants.
‘I find the magnitude to be impressive,’ lead author Dr Lydia Pace, an associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told DailyMail.com
‘It shows women’s contraceptive choice are or can be influenced by political events.’
Additionally, the researchers say there were two more insertions per day following the 2016 election than in the 30 days before and the same period in 2015.
LARCs are regarded as the most effective form of birth control with a 99 percent efficacy rate.
This means that fewer than one in 100 women will get pregnant while using one compared to the nine in 100 women who get pregnant while using the pill, according to a 2011 study from the Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine.
However, according to a report published last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LARCs are the third most common method of birth control.
They are used by a little more than 10 percent of women on contraceptives compared to about 19 percent who’ve undergone female sterilization or around 13 percent using the pill.
In 2012, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), out-of-pocket costs for female contraceptives was eliminated for women covered by private health insurance.
This means that women went from paying nearly $40 out-of-pocket to $0, which led to an increase of LARCs.
In addition, health insurance plans provided by an employer were now required to cover birth control under the ACA.
But the researchers say the Trump administration has been working to weaken birth control mandates.
During his campaign, the president vowed to repeal the ACA and to cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood.
In November 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule that says employers may be exempt from the contraceptive coverage mandate if they object due to religious beliefs.
Non-profit organizations and private employers could also be exempt on moral grounds.
‘Women believe there main threat to access is the final rules released by Trump administration expanding exemptions,’ said Dr Pace.
‘They’re under injunction right now, but this could be impacting women’s behaviors.’