Megan Reynolds
Editor-in-Chief
mreynolds12@murraystate.edu
World Contraception Day, which takes place on Sept. 26, is an annual worldwide campaign to improve awareness of contraception and enable people to make informed choices regarding sexual and reproductive health.
According to a press release from Nurx, a company dedicated to reproductive health, millions of women live in areas where contraceptive health care isn’t as accessible as it should be.
“Currently, 20 million women live in contraceptive deserts,” according to Nurx’s press release. “They lack reasonable access in their county to a health care center that offers a full range of contraceptive methods.”
According to reports from the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization focused on sexual and reproductive health, 30 states, plus the District of Columbia, require both sex education and HIV education. Out of those 30 states, 17 require the content in the education to be medically accurate, according to the Guttmacher Institute’s website.
Of those states offering HIV education, 19 require education on condoms. Of those offering sex education, 20, plus the District of Columbia, require education on contraception.
In 2018, Kentucky passed Senate Bill 71, which required inclusion of abstinence education in any human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases curriculum. The state also mandates that HIV education be taught in addition to sex education.
World Contraception Day raises awareness for the advocacy of contraception over the abstinence education that many states require.
“Contraceptives are an important part of reproductive health, not only as a means of family planning, but also in order to reduce sexually transmitted infections,” Abigail Wilcox, the coordinator of the Women’s Center at Murray State, said.
Despite the importance of contraceptives for sexually-active students, some are still unable to get their hands on them.
“Financial barriers are always a predominant limitation,” Wilcox said. “For others, anxiety about making the purchase can be a deterrent.”
The price of contraception like condoms, and the hope to keep their students healthy, is why many campuses offer free contraceptives.
Before Health Services was outsourced, it offered free condoms to students via a brown bag in the waiting room. While Primary Care, the current provider of on-campus health services, does not offer them, students can expect that to change.
“That’s [condoms] not something that we currently offer, I think it’s something that we’ll probably work on.” Scott Curran, a physician assistant with Primary Care, said.
Curran said he thinks the stigma on contraception has changed, saying that people are a lot more open minded about it than they used to be.
“I think that, generally, it’s regarded in a positive light, now,” Curran said.
One of the more stressed topics World Contraception Day works to raise awareness for is barrier contraception, like condoms, that protect from STIs. The morning-after pill, oral contraceptives, intrauterine devices, none offer protection from STIs, which can potentially progress into sexually transmitted diseases.
According to the American Sexual Health Association, STIs do not necessarily display visible symptoms; symptoms that are displayed can be so mild they are often overlooked. An STD is the outward, visible expression of viral or bacterial infections.
Even if signs or symptoms of STDs are not present, students are still encouraged to get tested.
“The biggest thing, and most companies that provide non-barrier forms of contraception do a good job of mentioning this, but they don’t do anything to prevent STDs, and they’re still a problem,” Curran said. “Unless you just really trust a person and you’re okay with having permanent consequences from your relationship, you just need to use barrier protection even if you’re using a contraceptive.”