An intrauterine device can cost an individual between $75 and $380. (photo courtesy of AccessBC)

By Liam Verster

Free Contraception Policy

‘Missed opportunity’ to deliver on free contraception in Budget 2022: AccessBC

Mar 8, 2022 | 2:24 PM

A non-partisan grassroots campaign advocating for free contraception products in B.C. has called Budget 2022 a ‘missed opportunity’ to deliver on a campaign promise.

AccessBC was formed in 2017 to push for providing free contraceptions to British Columbians.

The group presented their position to the NDP following their formation, and the party passed a motion to adopt it in their 2017 convention. It was later included in their 2020 election campaign platform.

However, two years later, the Horgan government has failed to make good on that promise, and AccessBC said that the government has missed an opportunity to fulfill that in this year’s budget.

The biggest barrier British Columbians face in accessing contraceptions is cost. An intrauterine device (IUD) can cost between $75 and $380, oral contraceptive pills are $20 a month, a hormone injection can cost up to $180 a year and an implant has a fee of around $350. This barrier disproportionately affects disadvantaged, young and low-income people.

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Speaking with Vernon Matters, Teale Phelps Bondaroff, the co-founder and campaign chair of AccessBC, said along with costs, there are a number of other barriers British Columbians face in obtaining contraception.

“One of the other [barriers] would be someone living in a remote community, and now that person needs to take time off work or school to go get access to contraception to get a paid prescription from their doctor,” said Phelps Bondaroff.

“If there isn’t a clinic nearby, then they have transportation costs to get to that clinic. That might be their personal car, it might be public transit, if that’s not available, it might be hitch hiking.Then they need to get their prescription filled, pay for it, and on another day, say if it’s an IUD, get it inserted.”

Along with the time and wage-loss barriers, Phelps Bondaroff said there are also taboo and stigma barriers that a person may have to overcome in order to access contraception.

Marisa Levesque, the Vernon and Kelowna representative for AccessBC, told Vernon Matters that another barrier a person may face is confidentiality, especially if they live in a more rural community.

“So either requiring to disclose to your parents that you’re using contraceptives and need to access through their insurance plan, or having to go to the one health centre in town and request free contraception, which I believe is quite limited,” said Levesque.

“You may be able to get an emergency single month of contraception free at the public health centre as a young person, but being in a small town you often know someone who is working there, your friend’s mom, your school teacher, so confidentiality is one of the bigger issues for young people in more rural places.”

Levesque, who is studying medicine in Kelowna, told Vernon Matters that the benefits of having contraception outweigh the risks for many women.

“For me in particular, as someone who is accessing higher education and is lucky enough to be able to do that, not having to worry about having an unplanned pregnancy at this time of my life is really important,” said Levesque, adding that she is lucky to have extended health insurance as she hasn’t been able to work while doing her studies.

“In terms of the medications themselves and the risks and benefits, every medication obviously has side effects, but if you think of the ‘side effects’ of pregnancy and of unplanned pregnancy and whether you decide to continue that or go forward with a termination, those all come with their own risks. There are a lot of risks associated with pregnancy itself, so the benefits of being able to prevent a pregnancy, if it’s not something that you want at this point in your life, far outweighs any side effects, which are typically quite mild.”

With people still facing these barriers, AccessBC has called the NDP’s omittance of the program from Budget 2022 a ‘missed opportunity’ to do something to support British Columbians while also saving money.

Phelps Bondaroff said implementing the free contraception program would cost roughly between $50- and $60-million, but it would end up saving the province money in the long run.

“If you can’t afford contraception, you probably can’t afford to raise a child, so those costs will fall disproportionately on the public systems,” said Phelps Bondaroff.

“But not only that, but unplanned pregnancies are a higher risk to complications for the mother and infant. So you have additional health costs and risks, and that’s primarily where the savings come from.”

He pointed to a 2010 study on the cost-savings for providing contraception free of charge in B.C., which found that for every dollar spent would save $90 in public expenditures for social supports. It’s noted that the savings would be felt across a broad range of sectors from Children and Family to Health to Citizen’s Services.

He added that, if implemented, it would take just over 12 months to see those savings in B.C.

The Ministry of Health has reportedly said that the province will fulfil the promise for free contraception before the next election in 2024, but Phelps Bondaroff said the sooner they can deliver on the promise the better.

“The policy has to be implemented before the next election. If the B.C. NDP think they can go to an election with one of their major election promises unfulfilled, especially a critical one that supports equity and health, they would be pummeled in the election,” said Phelps Bondaroff.

He added that the B.C. Greens and Liberals have also committed to implementing this policy as part of their platforms in the last election and would likely campaign on it again in 2024.

AccessBC is requesting people write their MLAs and advocate for the policy to be included at least in the next budget, or implemented sooner if possible.

“If you go to our website there’s a ‘Write Your MLA’ button and basically there’s a letter that pops up, it takes less than 30 seconds to write your MLA. If you put your postal code in, it will find it for you,” said Phelps Bondaroff.

He adds the letter is editable and people can use the template to share their stories, which can be very eye opening and insightful.

AccessBC also recommends people get their municipalities to advocate for free contraceptions in B.C. Vernon sent a letter of support in October of 2020, becoming the 10th municipality to vouch for the policy. Since then, a total of 29 municipalities have signed on.

Vernon Matters has reached out to the B.C. government for a comment, but as of time of publication, they have yet to respond.