New Zealand introduces an intrusive birth control plan for women receiving welfare payments

By Lucia Muchova | May 16, 2012

The New Zealand government is planning to offer free long-term contraception such as implants and IUDs to women who receive welfare payments and their daughters, the BBC reported last week.

The plans have aroused opposition from those who consider this to be an intrusive step into private family life; and some have accused the government of population control. Indeed, the message sent seems to be the government does not want women on benefits to have children.

The government argues back that the country’s teenage birth rates are among the highest in the developed world (about 30 births per 1,000 women). Yet they are not higher than those in Britain or the US, the BBC reports.

Certainly, reduction of teenage pregnancies is a worthy goal. Young mothers are more likely to find themselves in tough economic circumstances and the school drop out for them is high. But is free provision of contraception to 16 year olds really the best option?

Studies into the relationship between contraception and unwanted pregnancies (for example this study into contraception use in Spain) show that mass provision of contraception is associated with increased number of unwanted pregnancies: quite the opposite of the desired goal. Flooding the market with free contraceptives is tantamount to putting a seal of approval on a carefree approach to sex.

A policy that aims to reduce the amount of welfare benefits by reducing the number of beneficiaries is short-sighted. Free contraception is not a solution to poverty. It fails to address deeper social issues that perpetuate inequality. It sends a harmful message that irresponsible sexual behavior is acceptable. It also allows the State to adopt a wrongful ethical position that supposedly justifies its interference with the private life of a family.

Read more here.

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