Birth control will again be affordable to millions of students and low-income women as the result of a provision included in the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill approved by Congress and soon to be signed by the President.
Advocates from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and its youth division, Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom, pressed hard to ensure passage of this provision which is so critical to achieving reproductive justice. Since January 2007, 3 million college students and hundreds of thousands of low-income women have lost access to affordable birth control. This is the result of a technical provision in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act which unintentionally cut off hundreds of safety net providers and every college and university health center from accessing low-cost birth control.
High costs of contraceptives contribute to the terrible cycle of poverty. A woman with low income is 4 times as likely to have an unintended pregnancy and 5 times as likely to have an unintended birth as a woman with higher income. Unintended pregnancy can perpetuate poverty, interrupt education and job opportunities, and create family hardship. Now, with the economy in crisis, it is the low-income who are most vulnerable. It our moral responsibility to ensure that women have access to the services they need to make decisions in the best interests of themselves and their families.
