This V-day, let's hope for cheap birth control
COMMENTARY
Issue date: 2/10/05 Section: Opinion/Editorial
- Page 1 of 1
|
It's not wrong that women's reproductive choices fall on their own shoulders. It's wrong that the process of obtaining birth control is so hard.
It is only thanks to Viagra, the cure for the common erectile dysfunction, that women can even expect to get birth control covered by their health plans. Women were pissed when the male impotency drug was introduced in 1998 and employer health plans didn't hesitate to cover it. At the same time, birth control was only covered by a third of health plans. By 2001, lawsuits had popped up everywhere and 21 states have instituted mandates. Now, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, 86 percent of employer-provided health plans cover contraceptives.
While this development is great, there is a more fundamental question to be addressed: Why do we even need a prescription at all?
Gynecologists, as they shuttle to and from their five-minute pelvic exams, may argue that the pill is too dangerous to be bought over the counter. Yet the rare side effects of the pill, such as blood clotting, can be predicted by age and health choices, such as smoking. A warning label would serve just fine.
Liberals, as they try to determine what is best for the world, may argue that changing the pill's status to over the counter will discourage women from seeing a gynecologist. This may indeed be true, but many women are already discouraged from seeing a doctor due to time and cost concerns. When a medicine becomes non-prescription, the price generally plummets, making contraceptives more affordable for those without insurance. Increased access does more for health than against it.
Conservatives, as they condemn SpongeBob, may argue that easy access to the pill will encourage sex without the purpose of procreation. Well, yes, that's the point. There isn't much anyone can do to stop conservatives from fretting about the activities of modern single women. But we can make their supposedly immoral sex a little safer.
The United States is way behind in the realm of contraceptives. Webster students in Thailand stock up on the pill before they come home, because they can get it in the local pharmacy for $2. It's as easy as picking up a pack of gum.
Although advocacy groups rightfully made a fuss about health care coverage, it's not just the price of pills that keeps most women away. It's the lack of convenience. College students who get their birth control from Planned Parenthood may have to go to the facility every month to restock. Since college students have notoriously packed schedules, missing a trip is easier than making it.
Last month, the FDA debated on making the morning-after pill, known as "Plan B," an over-the-counter-drug. Allowing women to buy earlier birth control options, such as the pill, NuvaRing and the patch, seems like a much simpler option.
As it stands now, the contraception revolution is far from over.
Lindsey Pilcher, a senior global journalism major, is the managing editor for The Journal.
