Controlling birth

As university students, while we are less likely to be in agreement with the GOP’s views on sexual and reproductive health, we do agree with its sense of the importance of the topic and the need for public debate and potential reform of the health care system.

Here at Princeton our first — and in some cases only — line of health care is through University Health Services. It is of the utmost importance that the University handles issues of sexual and reproductive health in a thorough and responsible way.

Much of the discourse on sexual and reproductive health is religious in nature, and God is certainly a key element in this debate, but with regard to the practical nature of daily student health needs I have left Him/Her out of it. The issue of religious morality is indeed a major one and is beyond my scope here.

The University’s sexual health system does a number of things that make students’ sex lives safer. McCosh provides students with 10 free condoms every day, alleviating the traditionally high cost of having safe sex. Our health center provides $19 Plan B pills that are available 24 hours a day (after-hours Plan B is still attainable on McCosh’s second floor). This is about a third of the usual cost for Plan B and makes safety and pregnancy prevention student-affordable. Checkups in McCosh are free and STD testing costs $14 dollars — a reasonable price for a comprehensive and expedient set of blood tests. Rapid HIV testing is completely free. Blood tests for pregnancy are also free of charge to University students. Beginning April 1, 2010, the cost of monthly birth control pills increased to a still-reasonable $14 for Lo-Ovral and $17 for Aviane, two commonly used brands. UHS also peppers the walls of McCosh with literature that highlights everything about safe sex, sexually transmitted diseases and abstinence. The Princeton community also facilitates educational orientation programs for freshmen via the advisee group discussion system.

Abortion is notably not covered by the University. According to a health care professional at McCosh: “We do so much to foster safe and responsible sex that abortion coverage is unnecessary.” Procedures that are done outside of the University system are not covered. It is rare that students require attention outside of what McCosh can provide — the circumstances would have to be “incredibly severe and rare,” said the same McCosh representative.

We are incredibly lucky to have these resources so readily available and so cost-accessible to us. Our facilities are centrally located, and the expenses unprohibitive. While we may not want to hear our potential future presidents belabor issues that most of us have fairly well-established opinions about, it is good to acknowledge that the debate is important, especially if it extends the availability of resources to a broader segment of the population. In the meantime it is critical that we as students are aware of the resources afforded us by our University and are thankful for them.

Policy makers might be wise in emulating, or taking lessons from, the Princeton model of wide-reaching education and contraception subsidies. The New York Times reported that a mass-media education campaign aimed at promoting and explaining safer sex could save American taxpayers around $431 million a year, while sex education and teenage-exclusive pregnancy prevention programs could potentially save $356 million. The biggest savings would come from increasing the amount of subsidized birth control available to less privileged women. At a cost of $235 million a year, such programs could save an estimated $1.32 billion annually. Understandably, it is easier to implement good practices in the small and well-funded environment of the Princeton community. However, there are clear steps that can be taken to emulate the system our University has and which will ultimately help taxpayers as well as reduce unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Education and medical subsidies are the key elements of the Princeton sexual and reproductive health system and potential areas for sexual health reform in the United States.

Aaron Applbaum is a sophomore from Oakland, Calif. He can be reached at applbaum@princeton.edu.