British Columbia will become the first province in Canada to make prescription birth control free for all its residents, effective July 1.er april.
The pledge made by BC’s New Democratic Party ahead of the 2020 election was part of Finance Minister Katrine Conroy’s budget speech on Tuesday.
The new program, funded to the tune of $119 million over three years, will cover prescription birth control options, including most oral hormonal pills, birth control injections, copper and hormonal intrauterine devices, intrauterine implants as well as Plan B, also known as the “morning after pill”.
Teale Phelps Bondaroff, chair of the AccessBC free prescription birth control campaign, points out that the policy is exactly what his organization has been calling for for years. The measure will improve the health of infants and mothers, in addition to making contraception accessible to all, says the man, who also expects the government to ultimately save millions of dollars each year.
A 2010 study estimated that paying for prescription birth control would save the BC government about $95 million a year through reduced abortions, prenatal visits and social supports. Phelps Bondaroff says there is still work to be done to improve access to sexual health care, but now hopes British Columbia will become “a beacon of hope for reproductive justice in Canada and America.” North “.
In her speech on Tuesday, British Columbia’s finance minister lamented that basic reproductive rights are too often under attack around the world. According to his estimates, someone who spends $25 a month on birth control will save about $10,000 over their lifetime thanks to the new program.
“It’s a victory for health and it’s a victory for gender equity in our province. And it was time, she said. The days of passing these costs on to women, trans people and non-binary people are coming to an end. »