How is President Obama doing so far when it comes to women’s health care? Planned Parenthood has given him a scorecard which says that “women of childbearing age spend 68 percent more in out-of-pocket health care costs than men.” The organization has given him high marks and says that he has “lived up to his pledge to make sure that strengthening women’s health is a priority in his administration.”

Some of the highlights include protecting a woman’s right to choose, making birth control accessible and affordable, and “repealing the global gag rule.” For a complete list of grades and subjects, check out the Planned Parenthood scorecard.

Image: Bauer-Griffin

Delaying children until you are mentally, spiritually, and financially ready to care for them is the right way to go. In today’s economy, some families are choosing not to add to their brood just yet. Many are delaying the addition of children because they simply can’t afford to raise them right now. In some cases, they are turning to sources like Planned Parenthood to help with medical and contraception needs.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania branch of Planned Parenthood says there has been a “10% increase in the number of women coming into its local centers in the past three months, many of whom are recently unemployed.”

I wonder if we’ll have a full-fledged baby boom once the economy finally picks up?

Image: sxc.hu.

This article has a correction posted May 15, 2008.

In response to yesterday’s post about the new FDA-approved, no-period birth control pill Lybrel, Alicia asked this question in the comment trail:

What exactly happens to your egg(s) when birth control pills prevent ovulation?

That’s a great question. First of all, let’s be clear on two important facts about the female body:

1. You’re born with all of the eggs you’ll ever need–millions of them, just chilling in your ovaries until menarche.
2. Ovulation refers to the actual release of the egg from the ovary into the fallopian tube, not the production of the egg.

Second, let’s be clear on what happens to eggs that aren’t fertilized and gestated when you’re not taking birth control.

1. At ovulation, the egg is released and travels down the fallopian tube to the uterus.
2. If it’s not fertilized, it simply disintegrates and is absorbed by the lining of the uterus.*

Logically, then, if birth control prevents ovulation from releasing the egg into the fallopian tube, it would eventually just break down and be asorbed back into the body in the uterus. But does that play out scientifically? Read more