Latest news with #birthcontrol
CTV News
a day ago
- Health
- CTV News
Study shows impact of free birth control in B.C
New data shows more women opted for IUDs when the province began providing free birth control – findings researchers say should send a message to Ottawa.
CBC
a day ago
- Health
- CBC
Almost 50% more IUDs, implants dispensed after B.C. made birth control free: study
A new study out of UBC is looking at the use of contraception in B.C. after the province began covering the cost of prescription birth control in 2023. It shows a jump in birth control prescriptions overall. But it also reveals that users opted for longer-lasting options that cost more up front. The study's lead author, Laura Schummers, an assistant professor at UBC in the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, spoke to CBC News about her research.
CBC
2 days ago
- Health
- CBC
New study finds almost 50% more IUDs, implants dispensed after B.C. made birth control free
Social Sharing More people started using IUDs and implants after B.C. made almost all forms of prescription birth control free, according to a new UBC research study. The study, led by Dr. Laura Schummers, found a 49 per cent jump in the number of "long-acting reversible contraceptives" (LARC) dispensed per month, 15 months after B.C.'s free contraception program began in April 2023. "This really tells us that there was a substantial cost-related barrier to using contraception as a whole," said Schummers, assistant professor at the University of B.C. in the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences. That "LARC" category — the most effective type of birth control — includes the IUD (intrauterine device), which is placed directly into the uterus, and the subdermal arm implant, placed under the skin in the upper arm. The implant lasts for three years, while the IUD can last for up to 12 years. The study found an additional 11,375 people using those methods within 15 months of the policy taking effect. Schummers said it shows that people across age groups and demographics will prefer more effective contraceptive methods when costs are removed. An IUD can cost between $350 and $450 in Canada, and the upfront cost can be a barrier, according to Schummers. Schummers said B.C.'s "landmark" policy has influenced discussions around free prescription medications in Canada. She noted Manitoba also started a free contraception program in October 2024. "Nearly a 50 per cent increase ... in the context of evaluating policy changes is huge," Schummers said. "This is not a few people at the margins whose insurance coverage wasn't quite right. This is telling us that there's a broad need for this kind of broad coverage, not just a limited sort of Band-Aid to maybe change an income threshold for coverage availability." The research study used two data sources, including a national database to look at prescriptions across B.C. for LARC and all contraception, as well as consider that data against a control group including all the other Canadian provinces that didn't make contraception free. Dr. Renée Hall, medical director of Willow Reproductive Health Centre in Vancouver, said her experience at the clinic tracks with the study's findings. "There has been a significant increase since universal contraceptives started," she said. The clinic has actually created a new phone line specifically for people calling in for long-acting reversible contraceptives like the IUD and implant. Hall said that the universal contraception program has given patients the chance to find the best contraceptive for them. "If the IUD didn't work out … they could easily switch to another until they found the one that could work," she said, "whereas that's really difficult to do if you have to pay the $400 for your first IUD and then another $200 for the next one." Hall said that she recommends more training for IUD insertion, which she said is "still a little bit lacking in our usual medical programs." Hall said the study shows the public wants access to effective, long-acting birth control.
France 24
2 days ago
- Health
- France 24
US plan to destroy contraceptives sparks uproar
The contraceptives are being stored in Belgium and are reportedly planned to be incinerated in France. Both European countries are under pressure to prevent the destruction. What has the US announced? On July 18, British newspaper the Guardian cited two US Congress sources as saying that President Donald Trump's administration planned to destroy $9.7 million worth of contraceptives, which are mostly long-acting such as IUDs and birth control implants. The contraceptives -- intended for some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa -- are stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel. They are to be incinerated at the end of July, according to the Guardian report. A US State Department spokesperson told AFP this week that "a preliminary decision was made to destroy certain" birth control products from "terminated Biden-era USAID contracts". Trump's administration dismantled USAID, the country's foreign aid arm, after returning to the White House in January, replacing President Joe Biden. The State Department spokesperson said the destruction will cost $167,000 and "no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." Why? The spokesperson pointed AFP to a policy that prohibits providing aid to non-governmental organisations that perform or promote abortions. The Mexico City Policy, which critics call the "global gag rule", was first introduced by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, and has been reinstated under every Republican president since. The Trump administration has also slashed foreign aid, with the Senate this month approving a package that cut around $8 billion in international funding, much of it intended for USAID. Research has estimated that the USAID cuts will lead to the deaths of 14 million people by 2030. Earlier this month, the US also incinerated nearly 500 metric tons of high-nutrition biscuits which were meant to keep malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan alive. Trump has also repeatedly moved to restrict abortion access in the United States, taking credit for the Supreme Court overturning the nationwide right to abortion in 2022. The US State Department also suggested to the Guardian that the contraceptives were nearing the end of their shelf life. However media reports have since said that the products expire between April 2027 and September 2031. What are the alternatives? Belgium's foreign ministry told AFP that it has "initiated diplomatic efforts with the United States embassy in Brussels" about the contraceptives. The government "is exploring all possible avenues to prevent the destruction of these products, including temporary relocation solutions," it added. The international organisation MSI Reproductive Choices said it had offered to "purchase, repackage, and manage logistics at our expense, ensuring the products reach those in need". However this offer was repeatedly rejected, it said in a statement. The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) made a similar offer at "no cost to the US government" that was also turned down. What are people saying? New Hampshire's Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to the Trump administration's stated goal of reducing government waste, saying the contraceptives plan "is the epitome of waste, fraud and abuse". Shaheen and Democratic Senator Brian Schatz have introduced a bill aiming to prevent further US aid being wasted. The IPPF said the contraceptives plan is "an intentional act of reproductive coercion". Doctors Without Borders called it a "callous waste". MSI advocacy director Sarah Shaw said it was "an ideological assault on reproductive rights, and one that is already harming women". The head of the French Family Planning group, Sarah Durocher, observed that last year France became the first country to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution. "France has a moral responsibility to act," she said. French Green leader Marine Tondelier signed an open letter calling on President Emmanuel Macron to stop the contraceptives from being destroyed. "Our country cannot be complicit, even indirectly, in retrograde policies," the letter read.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Study finds more women opted for long-acting IUDs after B.C. made birth control free
A one-month dosage of hormonal birth control pills is displayed in Sacramento, Calif., Aug. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) A new study finds significantly more women opted for long-acting birth control methods after British Columbia made prescription contraception free. Researchers found prescriptions for all types of birth control jumped significantly after the province began covering the cost of contraception in April 2023, especially for intrauterine devices (IUDs). The study published Monday in the BMJ examined the prescriptions of nearly 860,000 women in the 15 months after contraception coverage began and compared them to what would have been expected without coverage. It found a 49 per cent increase in prescriptions for IUDs, which are inserted into the uterus to prevent fertilization and considered 10 times more effective than pills or condoms. Reached in Vancouver, lead author Laura Schummers said IUDs can cost up to $450 out-of-pocket. 'This tells us that costs alone are a huge barrier to the most effective methods of contraception across Canada,' said Schummers, an assistant professor in the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of British Columbia. The study says roughly 11,000 additional women chose the more reliable option. It examined prescriptions for women aged 15 to 49 between April 2023 and June 2024. This report by Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press, was first published July 28, 2025.
