The Public Costs of Unplanned Pregnancy

The Public Costs of Unplanned Pregnancy

Unplanned pregnancy costs taxpayers approximately $11 billion each year, according to two new studies from the Guttmacher Institute and Brookings Institution. Additional new research provides the first-ever state-by-state estimates of unintended pregnancy. Among the headlines:

• Preventing unplanned pregnancy would yield substantial taxpayer savings. As Adam Thomas and Emily Monea of Brookings conclude, “The prevention of unintended pregnancy represents an important opportunity for the public to reap substantial savings, especially given the current fiscal climate. The enactment or expansion of cost-effective policies to prevent unintended pregnancies is therefore a timely and sensible strategy.”
• Fully 64% of births resulting from unplanned pregnancies were publicly funded in 2006---compared with 48% of all births and 35% of births resulting from intended pregnancies.
• At least 38% of pregnancies are unintended in all 50 states---more than half are unintended in 29 states and D.C.
• The media state unintended pregnancy rate was 51 per 1,000 women aged 15-44.

©2011, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
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