Planned Parenthood Calls on Congress To Support Family Planning
For Immediate Release: Jan. 30, 2014
Nation's Leading Reproductive Health Care Advocate and Provider Urges Lawmakers to End the Attack on Birth Control Access
NEW YORK CITY — Following today's editorial in the New York Times, "Costly Contraceptives," Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), the nation's leading reproductive health care advocate and provider, called on Congress to address the growing problem of access to affordable birth control in America. An increasing number of laws and regulations have made it harder for low-income Americans to access birth control. From laws that require birth certificates for birth control, to regulations that prevent universities and nonprofit health care organizations from purchasing and providing low-cost contraceptives to patients, public health is approaching a critical crossroads.
PPFA President Cecile Richards issued this statement:
"Birth control is basic health care and women and couples should have access to it. More than 17 million low-income women in the U.S. need subsidized family planning services and there is not enough funding to meet the need. This situation has been exacerbated by the requirement that women produce a birth certificate to receive low-cost birth control and roadblocks that limit universities and other nonprofit health organizations from accessing low-cost birth control for their patients.
"On behalf of the 2.4 million women who rely on Planned Parenthood for birth control each year, we are urging lawmakers to address the growing roadblocks that limit access to contraception. In today’s maze of birth control restrictions, fewer low-income women can depend on subsidized access to birth control, employers can refuse to cover contraceptives in their health plans, and a growing number of women who do have a prescription for birth control are having their prescriptions denied at the pharmacy counter by employees who object to dispensing birth control for personal reasons. It all adds up to millions of women and couples being denied access to birth control.
"The best way to build healthy families is to put prevention first. Ninety-eight percent of sexually active American women have used birth control. Lawmakers must act immediately to eliminate roadblocks between women and birth control."
Every year, Planned Parenthood provides millions of women, men and teens with health care information and services. Find more information about Planned Parenthood's Prevention First agenda.