Thank You, Senate.

Hey everyone!

What's the most you or your partner has ever had to pay for birth control (if necessary)? Many women these days expect to pay about fifty bucks a month if their insurance doesn't have flex spending, especially for popular methods like NuvaRing or Yasmin, that don't yet have a generic version.

Why should we care? Let's let this Planned Parenthood video tell us some reasons.



Luckily, help is on the way! In the pass of the senate's appropriations bill, affordable birth control will be restored- all it needs is President Obama's signature (and I was so worried about it in January). This is amazing news! How did we get such high prices, anyways? Let's let Planned Parenthood's ABC page tell us:

Fall 2007

A legislative error is made while creating the next year’s budget. It causes the price of birth control to skyrocket by up to 900 percent for low-income women and college students in 2008. Planned Parenthood leaps into action.

Spring 2008
Planned Parenthood joins forces with a group of more than 40 colleges and to send an open letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Larry Reid asking that Congress’ mistake be amended.

Summer 2008
As birth control prices climb, Planned Parenthood launches the Affordable Birth Control Campaign and starts to mobilize students and activists across the country.

September 2008
Nearly 300 campuses in 45 states across the country participate in the Planned Parenthood Affordable Birth Control Week of Action. College students come to Washington, DC, to tell their members of Congress stories about how they have been affected by rising birth control costs. More than 50,000 supporters across the country show their support for the Affordable Birth Control Campaign.

January 2009
Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) introduces the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act, a bipartisan, no-cost solution to the problem of birth control pricing. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduces a similar bill in the Senate.

March 2009
A no-cost provision to fix affordable birth control is added to the appropriations bill. Thanks to Planned Parenthood supporters, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) fails in his attempt to claim that the vital legislation is an earmark. The appropriations bill is sent to President Obama.

It's a good thing this 1.5 year fiasco of insane prices has finally come down a bit! College campuses and low-income clinics will now be able to provide birth control at reasonable prices for all women. This is such a great change in the right direction- now it's all up to the president!

Love,
Althea