The Potentially Problematic Ethics of Long-Acting Birth Control for Marginalized Women

Abstract

It is impossible to research contraception in America, in any form, without finding divergent opinions. The purpose of this capstone is to wade through the multitudinous opinions, criticisms, and fears, using the implementation of immediate postpartum LARC policies as a case study, and break down the provision of free birth control for Medicaid patients into its morally-variable components. There are ethical arguments to be made for both sides: numerous studies have found that birth control reduces poverty, but do current birth control practices take away impoverished women’s choices? Where is the line between the ethical demand to reduce poverty when possible, and the moral responsibility to allow women to think for themselves and create the families they desire, even when their choices are costly to state Medicaid programs? [From Introduction]