The Oregon State Senate voted overwhelmingly last week to approve House Bill 2700, requiring Oregon health insurance providers to include birth control coverage in their prescription drug packages. Referred to as the “Access to Birth Control Act,” the bill passed with a 24-5 vote and will take effect beginning in January of 2008. Gov. Kulongoski applauded the legislation, which many in the state consider long overdue.
The issue of reproductive rights has been magnified in recent years, largely because of its value as a wedge issue. Americans have sharply contrasting views on birth control, and because of the issue’s divisiveness, politicians on all sides of the political spectrum have come to realize its value as a means of appealing to the emotions of their voting bases.
The significance of the issue is not completely lost to partisan politics. Birth control has increased in prevalence over the past few decades, and now plays a central role in many American women’s sexual health. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 98 percent of reproductive-aged women in America used some form of contraceptive between 1982 and 2002, a large majority of whom used condoms and birth control pills.
Contraceptives are so common that even the federal government has recognized the necessity of providing it at a low cost. The Family Planning Expansion Project is a federal program that offers free birth control and reproductive health care to men and women. Offered on campus through the Student Health Center, FPEP has allows low-income men and women access to free contraceptives, for eight years allowing them to have better contraceptive coverage than many insured people.
College-age people in general, are among the least insured age group in America, a fact that brings to light one of the largest failings of the recent Oregon act: It helps only the insured.
Oregon needs to prioritize making contraceptives available to those without prescription drug coverage. Beyond that step, the state should combat the serious and growing problem of the young and uninsured.
If the state truly cares about reducing the number of unintended pregnancies, it must work to ensure contraceptives are available to all women and men.
Contraception is particularly important at a time in the lives of college-age men and women, when they are adjusting to the responsibilities – and hazards – of living away from home for the first time.
The Access to Birth Control Act is about more than making sure people are safe, however; it is about providing women with equal opportunities as men to make the best possible choices for themselves and their families. All arguments about the sanctity of life aside – if health insurance providers can cover Viagra, then it only makes sense they should cover birth control as well. Partisan politics have overshadowed any honest discussion about women’s reproductive rights for far too long. Fortunately, the Oregon Senate has taken an important step toward ensuring equal rights and protections for women, even if only for a small segment of society.