Thousands in B.C. getting free contraception, providing 'hope for reproductive justice'
Roughly 166,000 people in B.C. didn’t pay a dime for their prescription contraception between April 1 and Sept. 30. Health ministry data obtained by CTV News shows the majority of people using B.C.’s free prescription contraception program are in their 20s.
“Young women are getting a break on something that used to cost them and now it doesn’t,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix.
In the program’s first six months, roughly 73,900 people aged 20 to 29 got free prescription contraception. Roughly 26,700 people under the age of 20 took advantage of the program, which is the first of its kind in Canada.
“B.C. has become a beacon of hope for reproductive justice in Canada,” said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, co-founder of Access BC, a campaign that advocated for free contraception.
Birth control pills were most popular, with 113,200 prescriptions doled out between April 1 and Sept. 30. Roughly 30,400 emergency pills, 20,400 hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs), 6,800 hormonal injections, 3,200 copper IUDs and 2,900 implants were prescribed during the same timeframe.
“With this program, it gave me the opportunity to pick one that actually did work for me rather than what was in my budget,” said Shylo Peterson, who got an IUD from her family doctor in Courtenay.
“It would’ve cost me $386.33 out of pocket if I didn’t have any benefits.”
Peterson said she used to take birth control pills, which took a toll on her mentally and physically.
“If I didn’t have that [free IUD] option, then I’m either choosing not to take birth control or I’m taking something that will make it harder for me to get through my daily life,” she said.
PHARMACISTS SIGNING SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PRESCRIPTIONS
From April to October, B.C. doctors doled out roughly 125,000 contraception prescriptions, while nurses and midwives handed out 11,000, the health ministry said.
Pharmacists got contraception-prescribing powers on June 1. Between then and Sept. 30, they prescribed birth control to roughly 48,000 people.
“That’s taking pressure off our healthcare system while allowing people to exercise reproductive autonomy,” Phelps Bondaroff said.
Kim Myer, a pharmacist in Victoria, said most people come in for prescription renewals.
“There are a lot of people who don’t have a doctor [and] they’re not able to get into a walk-in clinic,” she said.
“So it just is easy for them to be able to come in [to the pharmacy] and get a prescription for something they’ve been taking for a long period of time.”
BARRIERS REMAIN
Eliminating cost improves access to contraception significantly, but doctors and advocates say other barriers remain.
“A free IUD in a box is not going to prevent any pregnancies,” said Dr. Renee Hall, co-medical director at the Willow Clinic in Vancouver.
Hall trains other physicians on IUD insertion. She said many patients wait weeks to get an IUD because there’s no financial incentive for doctors to perform the procedure.
“The remuneration fee for IUD insertion… is so poor that it started to become not worth it,” she said. “It’s a lot of trouble if you don’t do it very often.”
Physicians paid under B.C.’s fee-for-service model make $46.79 for the procedure. The health ministry said work is underway to improve compensation for IUD insertions.
'THE REST OF THE COUNTRY WILL FOLLOW'
Over the next three years, the province is putting more than $119 million into the free contraception program.
Dix said his ministry will analyze improved health outcomes and cost savings, such as those connected to unplanned pregnancies.
“This will be a significantly studied venture, but obviously we’re too early to see some of the long-term effects,” he said.
He hopes the program’s success inspires other provinces to follow suit.
“I believe that B.C. has taken a step here and the rest of the country will follow,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
First-ever human case of H5 avian influenza in Canada found in B.C.: officials
B.C. health officials say they have detected Canada's first-ever case of H5 avian influenza in a human.
Death confirmed at Ambassador Bridge after hours-long closure
More details have been released about a police investigation at the Ambassador Bridge that connects Windsor, Ont. and Detroit, MI.
After Trump’s win, some women are considering the 4B movement
Women are sharing information on social media about a feminist movement in which straight women refuse to marry, have children, date or have sex with men.
What is 'recitation?' Newfoundland tradition-keeper returns to stage from 100-day cancer-treatment isolation
On Thursday morning, Dave Penny officially ended a suggested hundred-day isolation period that followed his diagnosis and stem cell treatment for non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. On Thursday night, Penny returned to a stage at a downtown St. John's bar, regaling a small crowd with songs and stories with a distinctive Newfoundland flair.
Rare letter signed by U.S. Founding Fathers expected to fetch US$1 million at auction
A rare letter signed by three of the U.S. Founding Fathers of the United States is going on sale, and is expected to fetch up to US$1 million when it goes under the hammer next week.\
Woman killed after truck crashes through Fort McMurray Boston Pizza
A woman is dead after a driver crashed a truck through a Boston Pizza in Fort McMurray late Saturday morning.
Flower delivery leads to arrest for St. Thomas, Ont. resident
St. Thomas police say they arrested a 72-year-old St. Thomas resident after their ex-partner reported receiving flowers and a note left on the porch.
Cornwall, Ont. prepares for potential influx of asylum seekers following U.S. election
As the possibility of mass deportations looms following Donald Trump's re-election on Tuesday, border towns like the City of Cornwall are preparing for a potential influx of asylum seekers.
Here are new guidelines for preventing stroke
The majority of strokes could be prevented, according to new guidelines aimed at helping people and their doctors do just that.