Natasha Ali | Supplement Coordinator
Featured image: The elevated cost of contraceptives falls solely on women. | Courtesy of Pixabay
Access to birth control has been a debate in societies for a long time, with lack of affordability and accessibility often placed as barriers on women’s access to contraceptives.
According to an article published by Metro Toronto, many Canadian women face difficulty getting birth control pills. It is reported that most women in Canada either opt not to use them, or use them irregularly.
The main issue is the high cost of contraceptives, which isn’t covered as part of the healthcare system. Dr. Wendy Norman, chair of the Contraception Access Research Team at the University of British Columbia, said: “When we look around the world, Canada is one of the only societies that pays for universal health care… but doesn’t provide free contraception.”
Interestingly, the elevated cost of contraceptives falls solely on women, as well as transgender individuals. This raises an issue of discrimination against females, who are left with this financial burden, to make an informed choice regarding their own reproduction.
Further, women with lower incomes become more likely to abort, should an accidental pregnancy occur. In fact, several statistics have shown that “one in three Canadian women will have an abortion in their lifetime.”
There are many advantages to free contraceptives, both for women and for the healthcare system as a whole. It benefits taxpayers in the long run, as they would have more financial commitments if an unintended pregnancy occurred.
Another benefit is that it reduces healthcare costs, contrary to public misconceptions.
Providing free contraceptives reduces abortions, allowing more governmental budget to be devoted to family planning education.
With the recent introduction of a new and improved health care plan in Ontario, one of the main goals was to provide free medication to a certain age cohort, including birth control pills.
However, there are still many restrictions placed on women when purchasing these pills.
Therefore, there needs to be a change to healthcare regulations and contraceptives, in order for it to become more accessible, as well as helping to maintain better financial and social stability.
