Americans Support Further Contraception Research

An overwhelming majority of Americans supports research on new contraceptive methods, a recent poll shows.

An MSN-Zogby Interactive poll may foretell the coming of a new and improved "Sexual Revolution 2.0" nearly 50 years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of the first oral contraceptive – ushering in the so-called "free love" decade and eventually the movement for women's equality.

The poll released on Friday reports that 83 percent of the 6,769 American adults surveyed "believe scientists should continue to research birth control options."

Not surprisingly, young people, aged 18-29, were most supportive of expanding birth control options (87 percent) — trailing only respondents with household incomes over $100,000 (88 percent) in the push for more research.

Even those with incomes under $25,000, for whom raising children is an expensive proposition and who are more likely to be under-insured, if insured at all, overwhelmingly support (77 percent) the quest for more family planning choices.

The poll also found that 74 percent of Americans who use birth control are satisfied with their options while one in five are dissatisfied. No explanation for the responses were provided by MSN-Zobgy; however, the lack of health care coverage for family planning is a likely reason.

A majority (61 percent) claim that while some of the costs are paid for by insurance, just 20 percent are covered in full. A quarter of those with insurance get no reimbursement for birth control costs. One-third of men complained that their insurance policies fail to cover costs while 15 percent of women reported the same problem.

The MSN-Zogby study appears to underscore Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter's ability to read the political tea leaves when he pledged to restore state funding for pregnancy-prevention and family planning services that had been cut by the previous Republican administration.