AccessBC

Birth control will soon become free for all Manitobans with a prescription, the province announced Tuesday. 

The announcement, made during Premier Wab Kinew's Tuesday throne speech, makes good on an election promise the NDP campaigned on. The party previously pegged the cost to implement the universal coverage of select contraceptives at $11 million per year.

To mark World Contraception Day on Tuesday, Sept. 26, Access Now Nova Scotia held a campaign event in hopes of implementing no-cost universal contraceptives for all Nova Scotians.... Access Now Nova Scotia is a group advocating for the provincial government to enact a policy implementing universal no-cost prescription contraceptives for Nova Scotians.

Cost is the greatest barrier to contraception and it’s one the government can universally cover. Access to contraception is a critical component of reproductive decision-making and should be a guaranteed right for all under Canada’s universal health-care system.

If control of your reproductive health is part of the right to health care, access to contraception must fall within that right.

B.C. recently became Canada’s first province to offer universal access to free prescription contraception. Now a Calgary physician is pushing the federal government to follow suit. Sarah Offin speaks with Dr. Rupinder Toor, who’s launched a petition to make universal birth control coverage a reality for all Canadians.

A new birth control pill will be available over the counter without prescription next year in the U.S. But in Canada, access can depend on where you live, whether you have a family doctor and if you have the money to pay for it. Guest host Rosemary Barton speaks to two doctors about why caring for women's reproductive health is still a challenge.

On a broader economic scale, free contraception saves taxpayer dollars. B.C.-based Options for Sexual Health estimates that for every $1 spent on contraceptive support for an individual, taxpayers may save up to $90 in future social support. In Canada, up to 40 per cent of pregnancies are unintended and more than half of these unintended pregnancies occur in people not using contraception. The direct cost associated with unintended pregnancies per year in Canada is upwards of $320 million.

A large majority of Albertans support the idea of the government providing universal access to free birth control, suggests a new poll from a Calgary-based public relations firm. ThinkHQ, an Alberta public and government relations and opinion research firm, provided the poll to CBC. It found that 74 per cent of Albertans surveyed approve of the idea of free prescription birth control while only 18 per cent disapprove.

A large majority of Albertans support the idea of the government providing universal access to free birth control, suggests a new poll from a Calgary-based public relations firm. ThinkHQ, an Alberta public and government relations and opinion research firm, provided the poll to CBC. It found that 74 per cent of Albertans surveyed approve of the idea of free prescription birth control while only 18 per cent disapprove.

This common-sense approach to health care inspires hope that Manitoba might also follow in the footsteps of British Columbia, which just announced that as of April 1, prescription birth control will be available free of charge. The province will cover the cost of four common methods of birth control: oral hormone pills, commonly known as the pill; subdermal injections and implants; copper and hormonal intrauterine devices, also known as IUDs; and Plan B (the morning-after pill).

Prescription contraception will soon be free in B.C. after the province became the first in Canada to unveil the program as part of its 2023 budget. The move has groups in other provinces excited and hopeful the same will happen across the country. Advocates say not only do governments save money on health-care costs when they provide birth control for free, but the policy improves the quality of life for those who need it.

Du 13 au 17 février se déroulait la Semaine de sensibilisation à la santé sexuelle et reproductive et le nouveau Réseau de soins d'avortement du Nouveau-Brunswick en profite pour demander à la province d'offrir une couverture universelle des frais de contraception.

Amélie en a discuté avec la Dre Martha Paynter, porte-parole du Réseau des soins d'avortement du N.-B.

As the Canadian federal government faces calls to improve access to abortion, advocates are now also calling for better access to all types of birth control. Canada's Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced $3.5 million for two organizations to help expand access to abortion. But that's just a small portion of a $45 million promised in last year's budget. Advocates say there are lots of other ways to spend the money, including on universal access to all forms of contraception. Global’s Abigail Bimman explains why it's a complicated topic and how politicians are responding.