Pomp and Contraception

Increased access to birth control leads to more young women graduating high school, according to a recent study at CU Boulder. From 2009 to 2015, the Colorado Family Planning Initiative (CFPI)­­­—through a private donation—provided a range of contraceptive options to low-income women and teenagers for free or at low costs. Sociologist and assistant professor Amanda Stevenson led a team at CU studying the years that followed and determined that CFPI was responsible for a 1.66 percent increase in graduation rates in Colorado. If that doesn’t sound like a lot, think of it this way instead: 3,800 young women getting their diplomas rather than dropping out of high school.