| Save Birth Control Now! Campaign |
 What if Congress passed a law that made the price of your groceries go up by 900 percent? There would be an instant uproar, and you can bet the problem would be fixed, immediately. Because of a technical error made by Congress in 2005, the cost of birth control in many clinics has risen to almost 900 percent what it was just a short time ago.
Some women who were paying $5 to $10 per month are now paying $40 to $50 for birth control. For the college students and low-income women affected by this cost hike, that's no small matter.
Congress has had more than enough time to fix the mistake, but hasn't done so -- needlessly jeopardizing women's health. Congress must act now to restore birth control to affordable levels.
We support the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act to bring down birth control costs at college clinics and safety-net providers by reinstating their ability to purchase low-cost birth control. |
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| Tell Congress to Restore Access to Affordable Birth Control Now | | Restoring access to affordable birth control is a simple and popular decision Congress can make right now. It's a commonsense measure to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies! But we can't afford to wait any longer. Millions of college-age and low-income women have lost access to affordable birth control -- a basic form of health care. These women are counting on Congress to act now.
Restoring access to affordable birth control is a simple and popular decision Congress can make right now. It's a commonsense measure to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies! But we can't afford to wait any longer. Millions of college-age and low-income women have lost access to affordable birth control -- a basic form of health care. These women are counting on Congress to act now. |
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| PPAWI Applauds Wisconsin's U.S. Representatives | | PPAWI praises Wisconsin Representatives Tammy Baldwin, Steve Kagen, Ron Kind and Gwen Moore for sponsoring the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act. The birth control pricing issue has had a substantial impact on college campuses throughout Wisconsin where students have had to absorb a substantial increase in the cost of their birth control.
For 20 years, drug companies have made it possible for college health clinics and safety-net health care providers to purchase birth control at low prices in order to pass along the savings to the college students and low-income women who rely on them.
This fall, college women returned to campus to discover that the birth control that previously cost them $5-10 for a monthly supply now cost $40-50 per pack, making it far more difficult to afford. Due to a provision included in the Deficit Reduction Act, as of January 1, 2007, every college and university health center and hundreds of safety-net providers were unintentionally cut off from accessing low-cost birth control and passing on the low price to college women and low-income women. The result has been an increase in the average price of birth control on college campuses, often to 10 times the previous cost. Skyrocketing prices are putting birth control out of reach for many college students and low-income women in need of family planning services to help them prevent unintended pregnancy. This crisis affects an estimated three million college women who take oral contraception, and hundreds of thousands of low-income women who obtain birth control through safety-net providers.
Millions of women who are taking personal responsibility for their reproductive health are facing a barrier because of these price spikes. The Prevention Through Affordable Access Act will bring down the rising cost of birth control to college health clinics and safety-net providers and will not cost the taxpayers a single dime. |
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| Save Birth Control Now! Campaign Media Coverage | | Planned Parenthood's Save Birth Control Now! Campaign has generated a great deal of positive news coverage. From national stories in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and U.S. News & World Report, to extensive coverage by campus newspapers, the media has recognized that the affordable birth control crisis is an important issue and that Planned Parenthood has played a leadership role on it.
Since Planned Parenthood launched it's Save Birth Control Now! Campaign, media coverage of the issue has increased, with a focus on grassroots activities, student advocacy, and urging Congress to act. Read and watch the widespread newspaper coverage about how colleges and students have been affected by the rise in birth control pricing. |
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