This week, a bipartisan group of representatives introduced a bill to combat the rising costs of birth control on college campuses. When the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 was implemented this year, it removed university clinics from a list of groups eligible for discounted rates from pharmaceutical companies—monthly birth control costs spiked, going from $5 to $50 or more in many cases.
“A technical oversight prevented many lower-income women from safe and low-cost contraceptives,” noted co-sponsor Mark Kirk (R-IL). “This should not be a political debate – it should be a matter of restoring discounts to support women’s health.” It’s refreshing to see such a quick, pragmatic response to an innocuous omission.
And, even better, the bill’s sponsors are drawing a direct link between prohibitively expensive contraceptives and unintended pregnancy, getting at the meat of the issue. “Let’s be frank with the American people,” said Tim Ryan (D-OH). “If Congress does not fix this problem, the cost of contraceptives will continue to rise, unintended pregnancies – especially on college campuses – will continue to rise, and more abortions will be the result.” So not only are these representatives working to quickly fix its mistake, but they’re using it to make a larger point about the importance of access to birth control. Happy Friday!
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