British Columbia announced on Tuesday that it will make prescription contraceptives free for all, a first in the country at a time when regressions in women’s rights are mounting around the world.
All people covered by health insurance will be able, upon presentation of a prescription, to obtain various methods of contraception free of charge as of April 1, indicated the Minister of Finance of British Columbia Katrine Conroy, while stressing the importance to guarantee “reproductive rights”.
“Too often these fundamental rights are attacked,” she said during her speech. “Not here in British Columbia.”
“The days when women and trans and non-binary people were made to bear these costs are over,” added the minister before the provincial parliament.
Methods covered will include most hormonal pills, implants, injections and intrauterine devices, such as the IUD, as well as the morning following pill.
“It’s a victory for health and it’s a victory for gender equity in our province,” added Ms. Conroy.
At $25 (17 euros) a month for birth control pills, the provincial government estimates that those affected might save up to $10,000 over a lifetime.
With this announcement, the Canadian province is following in the footsteps of several European countries, notably France, the United Kingdom and Germany, which already partially or universally subsidize contraception.
After making access to male condoms free for young people aged 18 to 25 in January, the French government plans in its next budget to provide free emergency contraception for all women as well as screening for certain sexually transmitted infections. for all, all without medical prescription.
The Canadian decision comes a few weeks following several associations denounced the increase in regressions in terms of women’s rights around the world. They cite in particular the right to abortion revoked by the Supreme Court in the United States or the restrictions on access to contraception in Poland.
