[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 29, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H1031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, 25 years ago I was diagnosed with ovarian 
cancer. I was lucky, had excellent doctors who detected the cancer by 
chance in Stage 1. I am alive today by the grace of God and biomedical 
research. Many women today are not so lucky.
  Ten women in the U.S. are diagnosed with a gynecological cancer every 
hour, and yet we know that using contraception for a year reduces the 
risk of ovarian cancer by 10 to 12 percent, using it for 5 years 
reduces that risk by roughly 50 percent. Twenty-six thousand women will 
die from these terrible cancers each and every year. This is just one 
of the ways that access to contraception is beneficial to women's 
health.
  Improved access to birth control is directly linked to declines in 
maternal and infant mortality and helps to reduce unintended 
pregnancies. It significantly reduces a woman's risk of endometrial 
cancer. That is why, after an impartial and comprehensive review of the 
scientific data, the Institute of Medicine made the decision to include 
contraception among covered preventive services under the Affordable 
Care Act because contraception is very much part of women's health. It 
can help prevent ovarian cancer. It can save women's lives.

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