Guttmacher’s Research on Unintended Pregnancies

Guttmacher’s Research on Unintended Pregnancies - By Michael J. New - The Corner - National Review Online: Last month the Guttmacher Institute promoted two studies that calculate the cost of unintended pregnancies. What makes this research agenda challenging is that it is difficult to obtain a precise figure for the percentage of pregnancies that are unintended.

Pregnancies can come with varying levels of “wantedness,” and it may be too simplistic to categorize pregnancies as either “intended” or “unintended.” That said, both studies seem fairly well done. Both conclude that unintended pregnancies cost taxpayers anywhere from $9 billion to $12 billion a year. However, when analyzing a Guttmacher study, their recommendations are usually more problematic than their methodology.