Its preventative medicine, just like a a male contraceptive is!
Why is it women always have to battle for sensible social policies? In the case of access to birth control pills, its an argument but in the case of condoms, men have had free access on campuses for years. People who argue that access to either will encourage promiscuity or raise rates of disease are simply being moralistic and stupid.
Should Birth Control On Campus Be Free?
Experts are discussing whether the birth-control pill should be considered preventive care under Obama's health plan.
Every month George Washington University freshman Jessi Payton walks to the pharmacy on campus and pays $15 for her birth-control prescription. Her mother's insurance covers the bulk of the cost, and the rest comes from the money she saved waiting tables last summer. Since she doesn't have a steady income, Payton is grateful for her mom's assistance. "I know so many people who need to go on the pill, and they can't because it costs too much money or their parents won't pay for it with their insurance," she says. "It's scary because that doesn't mean they aren't having sex."
While college health centers have been handing out complimentary condoms to students for years, birth-control pills have always been held under lock and key (unless, you have a prescription and a way to pay). Under President Obama's new health-care plan, however, that could all change. A panel of experts got together last month to begin discussing which kind of preventive care for women should be covered for free. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who wrote the women's health amendment to the plan, has said the aim was always to include family planning. But whether the birth-control pill falls under that definition and whether it should be deemed preventive medicine--and hence, free--has sparked a debate from college campuses to Capitol Hill.
That's because, should the pill make the cut, college coeds across the country would be able to access it for free--something not all parents and educators think is a good idea. The Department of Health and Human Services is scheduled to make its decision by August, and in the meantime everyone from politicians to students to health-care providers is weighing in. "Everyone is talking about it," says Payton. "And everyone has an opinion." Robin Mills, a sexual health education program coordinator at the University of California, Berkeley, adds, "Students would definitely take advantage of the pill if it was being offered at no cost."
Supporters of offering birth-control pills on campus at no charge argue that it would give women more freedom over their sexual health and reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies at colleges each year. "I have heard from hundreds of college women," says Elaine Tyler May, professor of American studies and history at the University of Minnesota, who surveyed women about contraception in her book America and the Pill. "And they feel very strongly about birth control being both affordable and accessible on campus." She adds that birth control is a lifesaving drug and that offering it for free is "socially and economically responsible." But opponents say free pills will increase promiscuity and may even contribute to a rise in sexually transmitted diseases. And not everyone likes the idea of burdening taxpayers with the cost.
Since the pill first became available 50 years ago, proponents have credited it with everything from reducing unplanned pregnancies to decreasing the rate of poverty in women. But cost and access to it have always been surrounded by controversy. Many health-insurance policies didn't cover the pill until as recently as the 1990s. (Today almost all plans do.) Still, the pill is currently the most commonly used method of contraception in the U.S. More than 45 million women of child-bearing age have taken it at some point in their lives. Yet the rate of unplanned pregnancies still remains high: nearly half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, and nearly 4,000 abortions are performed every day.
May found that college students, in particular, are facing more barriers in trying to receive medication. Most of them are not financially independent, and often it's logistically difficult to make doctor's appointments and obtain prescriptions, due to busy schedules and lack of transportation. If the pill were available on campus, students could simply make an appointment and walk over to the health center. Mills of UC Berkeley notes that it costs many students more than $100 to take the pill each month, depending on the insurance plan. "That's just not an expense students can bear," she says. And for those who don't want to tell their parents they're taking it, well, forget about using Mom's or Dad's health insurance plan to lower costs.
Physicians don't all agree that offering free birth-control pills on campus is a good idea, though most maintain that the benefits far outweigh any risks. "Low-dose birth control is very safe for most patients," says Dr. Linda D. Bradley, vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology in the OB/GYN & Women's Health Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. "Providing free birth control will decrease unplanned pregnancies, unfulfilled dreams, and early poverty. We have an opportunity here to shape women's lives for the better."
But, that might not always be the case, says Dr. Marguerite Duane, a family physician practicing in Washington, D.C. She said she fears the pill would lead to an increase in sexual promiscuity on campuses. What's more, there might even be an increase in unplanned pregnancies, because many women do not take the pill correctly. The birth-control pill is 99 percent effective only when it is taken every day. "Exposing women to unnecessary amounts of medication for a prolonged period of time hurts them," she says. "Instead we should be teaching women about their fertility cycles so they know when they can get pregnant."
Dr. Duane also notes that the pill has several adverse side effects such as weight gain and irritability. And some studies have shown that women who take the pill are at an increased risk of developing chlamydia. Opponents often tout abstinence-only education instead. But students such as Payton are skeptical those programs work. "The answer is definitely not having students abstain from sex," she says. "We are adults. We are going to have sex, and if the pill isn't available, sex just isn't going to be as safe."
But not every student sees it that way. Joy Welborn, a classmate of Payton's at George Washington University, says she believes it isn't the role of the government or the school to give out free birth control because taxpayers, such as her parents, would have to pay for it. "Having sex is an adult responsibility," she says. "If you are going to have sex, you need to be adult enough to fund contraception yourself." That, or enlist parental support, something many students are reluctant to do.
Leave a comment