Request: Support Private Member’s Bill No. 73: Free Birth Control Act
Honourable Zach Churchill, MLA, Minister of Health and Wellness
Department of Health and Wellness
Barrington Tower
1894 Barrington Street
P.O. Box 488
Halifax, NS. B3J 2R8
Phone: 902-424-5818
Health.Minister@novascotia.ca
Dear Minister Churchill,
Request: Support Private Member’s Bill No. 73: Free Birth Control Act
Wellness Within is a registered non-profit organization working for reproductive justice, prison abolition, and health equity in K'jipuktuk, Mi'kma'ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia). We are writing to you to voice our support of the Private Member’s Bill No. 73: Free Birth Control Act.
As doulas and supporters of people experiencing pregnancy and criminalization, we see the harm caused by lack of access to affordable contraception. One in two women who experience incarceration has had an abortion, and on average incarcerated women have had four children. These rates are far higher than the general population. Cost is a significant barrier to people accessing contraception, and these costs are borne inequitably by women, transmen and gender diverse people at risk of unintended pregnancy. This violates Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that protects people in Canada from gender and sex discrimination. Canada signed on to the UN Declaration on Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 1993, which requires governments prevent discrimination against women and girls. Access to contraception has been deemed a basic human right by the United Nations Population Fund.
A small number of people in NS have prescription drug costs covered through Community Services (i.e. those on income assistance), and some have employment-based drug plans that provide partial or, rarely, full coverage. However many in NS are completely without coverage. In Nova Scotia approximately 1 in 3 of all workers and 73% of part time workers do not have access to prescription drug coverage. Cost is a particularly significant barrier to youth and people from marginalized communities. The Canadian Pediatric Society has called for free contraception for everyone under the age of 25. Furthermore, job losses caused by the pandemic have also resulted in losses of prescription drug coverage attached to employment.
IUDs are the most cost-effective option for birth control. In Canada, IUDs are approved for continuous use for 5 years, and they are 99% effective at pregnancy prevention. The retail cost per unit for an IUD is approximately $417. This cost represents nearly 20 percent of the median monthly after-tax income of Nova Scotians and is therefore out of reach for many.
Fifty percent of pregnancies in Canada are unplanned. Unintended pregnancies are associated with later presentation for prenatal care, increased rates of tobacco and alcohol use in pregnancy, as well as low birth weight and infant mortality. Unplanned birth can have a significant impact on a person’s life course, particularly for youth, leading to lower educational attainment, lower income, and higher reliance on social support systems.
A large number of unplanned pregnancies will be terminated. Both medical (over $1700 in hospital) and surgical abortion (over $1900 in hospital) are covered by MSI in Nova Scotia. The NS Women’s Choices Clinic in Halifax performs approximately 1500 abortions per year, at a public cost of $3 million. Covering contraception will prevent abortion and save public funds. The direct cost related to unplanned pregnancy in Canada is $320 million. One analysis of a contraceptive access program in the UK estimated a saving to cost ratio of 11:1.
For a person to exert their full reproductive rights, they must have knowledge of, and access to, all methods of family planning. Unfortunately, there are gaps in the current program, and it is our hope that these gaps are filled with the universal prescription contraception program outlined in Private Member’s Bill No. 73.
On behalf of Wellness Within we urge you to support this bill.
We look forward to your prompt reply and action on this urgent matter.