Petition asks for affordable birth control

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.alligator.org/articles/2008/03/24/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/080324_lets2.txt

By Laura Moore, 3LS
These past few months, I have noticed many of my friends recalculating their monthly budgets because of the new costs incurred by their birth control.

Many survive from one paycheck to the next, and it’s unfortunate that they have to choose between paying for their health and paying for their utilities. So why has this become an issue recently?

Under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2006, Congress inadvertently changed a rule and made it harder for universities and some family planning providers to offer their patients affordable birth control.


Now, hundreds of thousands of women, who once only had to pay $5 to $10 for their birth control, must now spend $40 to $50 on a month’s supply, making it much more difficult to afford.

This affordable birth control crisis is a simple problem to fix — it would cost taxpayers nothing and can be done immediately. Congress needs to take action and pass the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act.

Birth control is basic health care, and if Congress is serious about reducing the rate of unintended pregnancies, they need to fix this mess.


FULL story at link.