Few issues have been more divisive than abortion. Deeply-held beliefs on both sides, and the inability of each side to fully appreciate the concerns of the other, have left little room for productive political debate. Abortion and gay marriage have added a visceral emotional element that has poisoned discussions between Democrats and Republicans on issues ranging from taxes to healthcare. These issues are tearing apart "mixed" neighborhoods (yes, Republicans and Democrats sometimes live next door to one another). I almost lost a good friend over the issue of abortion during the 2004 election. This led me to look for a new way to address the issue.

I am pro-Choice, but my campaign will not discuss the legality of abortion. I believe that to bring a life into this world is a sacred act. But it is also an intensely personal one. Any decision to end a pregnancy is an extremely emotional and sad undertaking. It is a myth that many abortions are undertaken lightly and as a form of birth control.

Our fighting over abortion's legality does very little to benefit women. This is because we are fighting over how to treat the symptom of the problem, and not addressing the root causes of abortion. In fact, whether or not abortion is legal will have very little impact on the number of abortions that occur, except among the very poor - we just won't be able to count them anymore.

I would like to extend a hand to the pro-life community, so that together we can fight our common enemy - and the root cause of abortions - unintended pregnancies. Until we reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, we will never significantly reduce the number of abortions. While there are a few provisions I do not agree with, I support the Democrats for Life of America 95-10 initiative to reduce abortions. Increasing adoption counseling, funding daycare at universities, fully funding WIC programs, and banning healthcare discrimination against pregnant women makes sense. However, this effort primarily addresses the issue after the woman has become pregnant. I want to work to make sure that she only becomes pregnant when she decides it is the right time.

Pro-Choice and Pro-Life forces can work together to develop ideas for reducing the number of unintended pregnancies in Southwest Ohio. About 50% of all pregnancies are unintended. Of these, about half end in abortion (please note that these statistics and all others presented on this page are reported by the respected Alan Guttmacher Institute). The other half results in many children who are not wanted who place an enormous financial burden on the family. Unintended pregnancies are our common enemy. Let's stop fighting with each other...and start fighting for women.

I offer the following 4-point plan that I will pursue if elected. Whether you agree or disagree with my plan, if you have another idea, I want you to tell me. Just click on the button on this page. You will have an opportunity to type in your idea and rate my ideas and other ideas other people have submitted. As part of my campaign, I will report the Top-10 ways in which our community wants to work to reduce unintended pregnancies.

Rick Smith's 4-Point Plan to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies

1. Reliable Natural Family Planning (NFP) - There are certain individuals and religions which feel that artificial contraception is a sin. Natural Family Planning (the "Rhythm Method" or "Periodic Abstinence" to the older generation), is the one form of birth control that most everyone agrees is acceptable from a moral perspective. The problem is that NFP is not reliable unless both partners are extremely diligent in tracking the woman's cycle. In the real world of typical use, at least one in four women using this method will get pregnant within a year.

There is no reason that we cannot increase the reliability of the NFP method. Ovulation is a HUGE event in a woman's body. We know that there is a surge of a hormone called Leutenizing Hormone (LH) 2-3 days before ovulation. It is important to know before a woman ovulates, because sperm can live for up to 3 days. The NFP office at the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops has informed me that scientific research in this area is woefully underfunded.

There are Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPKs) on the market, but they can be cumbersome to use. You have to pee on a stick and you should do it at the same time every day, but not first thing. Results are not always as clear as they should be. Basal temperature methods require a couple of months to get right, and they only register after a woman has ovulated...fine if you are trying to get pregnant, but disastrous if you are not.

My program would use Federal and State funds to invest in ovulation prediction research at the University of Cincinnati and other Ohio medical schools. I want to increase the reliability of NFP from 75% to 95%-99% - and I want to make it foolproof. I envision a device like a blood glucose meter that a woman could use to test her LH level twice a day. Or perhaps we could develop a patch that would change color at the right time. The device might even tell her when it is safe to have sex again. Of course, this could also be used to improve the lives of women who want to get pregnant.

I would also like to see funding for this research to come from Procter & Gamble or Johnson & Johnson, who would get the marketing rights to the device after it is developed. Finally, I am making a call to the Catholic Church and Planned Parenthood to encourage their donors to contribute to this effort and to sit on the Board which oversees the research. I am confident that if these two organizations are talking regularly, they can develop other ways to reduce unintended pregnancies.

2. Male Responsibility - Let's face it - the woman bears the burden if she gets pregnant unintentionally. She must decide whether to have the baby or not. Then she must undergo either surgery or pregnancy and birth. She will be primarily responsible for the child's emotional and financial well-being. It can be too easy for the man to pressure the woman into having an abortion, or to just leave her to deal with the situation.

As a society, we can no longer excuse male behavior with "Oh well, boys will be boys". We need make the man realize that there will be serious consequences to him if he gets a woman pregnant when she did not intend to be pregnant.

At least 25% of all abortions occur because of some degree of male irresponsibility (my analysis of the Guttmacher data). Either the man did not want to use birth control, or he told the woman he was sterile, or the woman reported that she was "not expecting to have sex" at the time she got pregnant.

I want the man to realize that there are serious consequences to either ignoring contraceptives or refusing to use them. If a man gets a woman pregnant when she did not intend to become pregnant, he will immediately be responsible for the woman's healthcare. He has caused this medical condition in the woman, so he should pay... not the woman, and not the State. The man will pay for all pregnancy-related care, including prenatal care, birth, and abortion services. After birth, the man will be referred to the Domestic Relations Court to administer child support payments.

3. Adult Education - The Alan Guttmacher Institute reports that more than half of women who have abortions were using a birth control method during the month they got pregnant. Inconsistent use of condoms and the pill are biggest problems. We need to provide information to adult men and women about how important it is to use birth control consistently.

Interestingly, more than 3% of all abortions occur among women who say they were taking the pill consistently. The third plank of my platform addresses these abortions. What many women do not know is that there are a number of medications which can interfere with the effectiveness of birth control pills. Before taking any medication, consult with your doctor about their potential interference with the pill's effectiveness. The following are considered particularly problematic:

Antibiotics

• rifampin (Rifadin)
• Other antibiotics. Research on many other antibiotics is conflicting. Talk to your doctor before taking penicillin (Omnipen), amoxicillin (Amoxil), ampicillin (Omnipen), calphalexin (Keflex), co-trimoxazole (Septra or Bactrim), trimethoprim, doxycycline, tetracycline (Sumycin), minocycline (Minocin), metronidazole (Flagyl), or nitrofurantoin (Macrobid or Macrodantin)

Antifungals

• griseofulvin (Fulvicin)

Anticonvulsants / Antiseizure

• carbamazepine (Tegretol, Carbatrol)
• phenobarbital
• methylphenobarbital
• paramethadione
• ethosuximide
• phenytoin (Dilantin)
• mondafinil (Provigil)
• primidone (Mysoline)
• oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
• topiramate (Topamax)

Antiretroviral Protease Inhibitors used to treat HIV - ALL

Other Prescription Medicines (research is not as conclusive)

• Valium
• Diuretics
• Migraine medications

Over-the-Counter medications

• St. John's Wort

My plan would mandate that every women receiving a pill prescription be given this important drug interaction information.

4. Teen Education - Teens account for about 19% of all abortions. It is also likely that many unintended pregnancies among older women result from inadequate education when they were teens. I respect the fact that there are sincere differences among parents about whether sex education for teens should focus on Abstinence only or contain a mix of Abstinence, Behavior modification, and Contraceptive use messages (the "ABC" program). If a business like Procter & Gamble were to try to figure out what advertising or promotion program worked the best, what would it do? Argue with rhetoric? No, P&G would conduct a "controlled matched market" test. I propose that we take a page from Corporate America and properly test sex education techniques. My plan would identify six high schools in Southwest Ohio which have approximately the same teen pregnancy rates. Two of these schools will form the "control group" - they will continue with the same programs (or lack of programs) in place today. In two of the schools, we will implement a strong Abstinence-Only program. In the remaining two schools, we will implement a comprehensive ABC program.

It is likely to take only two or three years to determine which method reduces teen pregnancy the most. Whichever method works best will be implemented in all Southwest Ohio high schools, supported by State and local funding.

Thank you for taking the time to review my 4-point proposal. Now it is time for you to contribute to this discussion. If you have an idea for how to reduce unintended pregnancies - and to reduce the number of abortions as a result - click on the Be Part of the Solution button on this page. Submit your idea then rate my ideas and those of your neighbors. Together we CAN make a difference!