Is Zilker a “contraceptive desert”?
According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, nearly 20 million women in America live in so-called “contraceptive deserts”: counties where the number of public clinics is not enough to meet the needs of the county’s population. The group estimates that more than 19.7 million females ages 13 to 44 lack reasonable access to public clinics that provide birth control, defined as at least one clinic or provider for every 1,000 women.
The organization found that Texas — which sadly lays claim to the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, plus the nation’s highest repeat teen pregnancy rate — has the highest number of contraceptive deserts of any state.