A women’s health and reproductive rights advocate is denouncing a decision by the Alberta government to vote down a motion brought forward by the provincial NDP to offer free, prescription contraceptives.
The Opposition NDP proposed the idea Monday in the Alberta legislature, but the governing UCP said it wasn’t necessary.
“Alberta Health supports a variety of initiatives and programs that address matters related to women’s health including coverage for many contraceptive drug and health products,” Arts, Culture and Status of Women Minister Tanya Fir said in question period.
The UCP government also noted many are covered by private health-care plans.
Rupinder Toor, a Calgary doctor who founded the not-for-profit organization Project EmpowHer, argued that is not always true. She said many women across Canada, including in Alberta, struggle with paying for expensive birth control while many others simply cannot afford it and go without it.
“Birth control should not be a luxury item,” she told Global News, “and it should not depend on your postal code.
“Prevention is always going to be cheaper than paying for the consequences.”
Toor said the free policy is a “fabulous one” that “pays for itself.”
“Studies have shown every dollar we invest in prescription universal contraception can (equate) up to nine dollars in savings to the public system,” she said.
“Forty per cent of pregnancies in Canada right now are unplanned and we’re spending over $300 million on unintended pregnancies on a national level — so there’s a huge cost savings to be had.”
Toor said the policy also strengthens individuals, families and communities.
“It improves child and maternal health,” she pointed out. “It reduces the number of abortions. It makes life more affordable.”
Julia Hayter, the Opposition critic for the status of women, put forward the motion on Monday. In a news release, she accused the provincial government of “refusing to consider the price of Albertans’ access to vital health care.”
“Universal access to free prescription contraception will ensure Albertans, especially women, are in control of their economic future and their health,” she said. “It’s good health policy, good economic policy and it’s the right thing to do.”
Toor, who is also the founder and medical director of The IUD and Women’s Clinic in Calgary, said when a family can choose how many children to have — and when to have them — it makes for a stronger family unit.
She said anyone who does not believe in those benefits is not understanding what the policy is actually about.
“One of the criticisms we get is that somehow we’re promoting free sex,” Toor said. “What we’re really saying is this policy is not about sex — it’s a reproductive life plan. Every family and every individual deserves to have a reproductive life plan.”
Toor said a petition started by Project EmpowHer received a sinificant response and that she believes many Canadians and Albertans are in favour of the policy.
She said she hoped the province would reverse its stance on the policy for the betterment of all women.
“A lot of people who can’t afford the contraception (also) cannot afford to have that child,” she said. “So as a society we’re going to subsidize that.”
If approved, Alberta would have joined British Columbia and Manitoba as provinces offering free birth control to all residents.
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