News release: Federal Petition Calls for Free Birth Control in Canada

New Federal Petition Calling for Free Birth Control in Canada Starts with Strong Support

Calgary, Alberta, Canada – August 1, 2023, 10:00 a.m. MT

House of Commons Petition E-4516, advocating for Federal Universal Coverage of Contraception, went live on July 27, 2023 and has already garnered over 600 signatures, the minimum amount required to be presented in the house is 500.

The petition pushes for free birth control across Canada on 3 main points:

It Saves Money

The petition asserts that a policy for free birth control in Canada, saves public dollars. Studies have shown each $1 invested in publicly provided contraception results in up to 9 times total cost savings across the public sector. Furthermore, savings are realized quickly, with the policy costing no money by year two, and saving money by year three. In Canada, it is estimated that 40% of pregnancies are unintended, with an associated direct health care cost of over $320 million annually.

Why a Federal Policy?

British Columbia started offering free prescription birth control to its residents on April 1, 2023, and similar policies are on the mandate for other provincial political parties. A recent survey showed almost 75% of Albertans support free prescription birth control, and while health care is a provincial jurisdiction, the petition is calling for a Federal policy on the grounds of equity and human rights.

“Reproductive Rights are Human Rights and cannot be left to the whim of changing provincial governments, they must be protected on a federal level” says Dr Rupinder Toor, the award-winning Calgary medical doctor leading the campaign. The petition highlights recent alarming movements to restrict access to reproductive care in the United States. “Access to reproductive care is being increasingly restricted and dismantled just south of Canada’s border in the United States and women in Canada are starting to feel nervous. I am not fighting just for my patients, but for reproductive security and gender equity for all Canadians.”

The freshly published 2023 Global Contraceptive Policy Atlas also highlights inequities that exist within Canada with access to reproductive care. While most provinces provide birth control information, only 46% of provinces provide financial coverage of contraception for all or most of their population.

A symbolic first step

Canada is the only country worldwide with universal healthcare that lacks coverage for prescription drugs. The Government of Canada has committed to a national pharmacare program. The petition suggests that Universal coverage of contraception could be an important, immediate and symbolic first step of this program.

Next steps

The petition will stay open until August 25, 2023. “So far, this has been the only opportunity for the people of Canada to weigh in on the issue, and we hope they will send the government a strong show of support that NOW is the time to take action to ensure that access to birth control will always be secure in Canada,” says Dr Toor. Project EmpowHER, the organization leading the campaign, hopes to have an affirmative members statement in the House of Commons on September 26, 2023, also World Contraception Day.