In a bracing piece in The Nation, Sharon Lerner explores, with her usual clarity, why it is that primary prevention--simple birth control--now seems so devalued. Read, scratch your head, and be concerned. Sigh.

Women currently account for 51% of the overall U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To be precise, there were 154,135,120 women and 149,924,604 men in the United States in 2008. We also know that women, more often than not, are responsible for making decisions about their families' health care.

While I think it would be hard to make the leap that 51 percent of the programs and benefits of health reform should be directly targeted toward women, it's not a stretch to argue that health reform should address the health care needs of women and their families. That includes pregnancy planning and prevention.

Unplanned pregnancies are closely linked to a number of negative health, social, and economic consequences. Family planning services--counseling, gynecological care and screenings, prescription drugs and devices, and related outpatient services--are a cost-effective way to make progress on preventing unplanned pregnancy and improving health outcomes for women and families. As such, family planning should be classified as a preventive benefit with the same cost-sharing protections afforded to other designated preventive benefits in any essential benefit package that is created within the context of health reform.

For health reform to work, it has to be meaningful for everyone, including 51 percent of the U.S. population.

Cross-posted from RH Reality Check's On Common Ground section.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is excited to join with Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and the National Foster Care Coalition in a partnership to focus on reducing the disproportionately high teen pregnancy rate among youth in and aging out of foster care. Since 2005, this population has been a major focus of the Campaign's work, both because this is a group of young people with high rates, and because it's an area where more attention and research is needed to make progress and improve child well-being.

As a first step, our newly formed working group sponsored a briefing on Thursday entitled, "Preventing Teen Pregnancy and Promoting Health Relationships among Youth in Foster Care." Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) was part of the Congressional Roundtable Discussion at which the announcement of the new working group was made. She pointed out that the government has a special obligation to take care of the children in its custody, and given some of the reproductive health outcomes of this group, we all could be doing a better job of making sure this happens.

President Obama released his FY 2010 budget today and called for at least $164 million in funding for a new teen pregnancy prevention initiative. This includes competitive grants for evidence-based programs, research and evaluation, and an authorization for $50 million in new mandatory teen pregnancy prevention grants to states, tribes, and territories. The budget eliminates funding for Community-Based Abstinence Education and the mandatory Title V Abstinence Education program. Based on an initial reading of the budget, the National Campaign released the following statement:

"Regarding teen pregnancy, President Obama's budget is just right--it emphasizes good science, encourages research and innovation, and increases the overall investment in teen pregnancy prevention" said Sarah Brown, CEO of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

"During an economic downturn and at a time when the teen birth rate is on the rise after 14 straight years of decline, it is particularly important that public dollars be devoted to those interventions that have evidence of success. The President's budget does just that.

We also appreciate that 25% of what the President proposes in his budget is devoted to carefully testing innovative approaches to preventing teen pregnancy. If we are to make continued progress in preventing teen pregnancy and childbearing, it is clear that we will need fresh new approaches that, for example, help underserved populations and that employ new technology to reach young people. This will continue to expand the roster of effective approaches that states, tribes and communities can use to prevent too-early pregnancy and parenthood."

Please visit www.TheNationalCampaign.org for language from the President's budget, as well as related and relevant information and updates.

Like most Americans, I am profoundly moved by the election of Barack Obama. The reasons are numerous and I have little to add to the outpouring of eloquence within the U.S. and around the world. 

My modest addition is this: imagine our nation finding common ground centered on a simple thought: getting pregnant is one of the most important life events that occurs to any of us, with profound effects reaching into future generations.  It requires thought, care, support, communication and open discussion.  We need to develop better systems of education and services to support this critical decision and life stage, and we need to foster a deeper sense of personal responsibility attached to getting pregnant and raising families.  President-elect Obama has spoken to this combination of responsible policies and responsible behavior in general AND in relationship to the matters that concern us at this National Campaign.  I am luxuriating today in my hope that by the singular act of electing him President, America might be poised to make progress on "our" profoundly important, consequential issues.