UCLA Students Organize to Support Affordable Birth Control
UCLA students (l-r) Lindsey Zwicker, of the Law School's Students for Reproductive Justice, and Kara McMullen and Michelle Horejs, both of the School of Public Health's Reproductive Health Interest Group, invite students on Bruin Walk to take action for the Affordable Access Act.
This week, a coalition of student groups is organizing to speak out on the affordable birth control crisis and encouraging Congress to take action to pass a bill that will fix the unintentional legislative error that caused the problem.
In Fall 2007, thousands of UCLA women returned to campus to discover that the birth control that previously cost them $5–15 for a month supply now cost $30–60 per pack. Planned Parenthood Los Angeles's (PPLA) campus group VOX is collaborating with the UCLA School of Public Health’s Reproductive Health Interest Group and the UCLA Law School’s Students for Reproductive Justice to organize students and take action to restore affordable birth control. One message they want to convey is that this legislative fix will not cost taxpayers a dime.
“Birth control is basic health care, yet millions of college women are paying inflated prices for birth control due to a legislative error,” said Serena Josel, Public Affairs Manager of PPLA. Skyrocketing prices are putting birth control out of reach for college students and low-income women in need of family planning services to help them prevent unintended pregnancy.
A provision included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2006 helped college and low-income women obtain affordable birth control. As of January 1, 2007, every college and university health clinic and hundreds of safety net health care providers were unintentionally cut off from accessing low-cost birth control and passing on the low price to college women and low-income women.
“We used to be able to buy affordable birth control, but now we are paying skyrocketing prices for it. Congress needs to take immediate action to fix this crisis,” said Michelle Horejs, graduate student and member of UCLA’s Reproductive Health Interest Group.
House and Senate leaders have introduced The Prevention Through Affordable Access Act, a bi-partisan bill that would provide a no-cost technical fix. Students are urging their Congress representatives to co-sponsor the bill, and to take action to fix the affordable birth control crisis.
“On UCLA’s campus, we are speaking out and taking action,” said graduate student Elissa Bradley. “We are organizing students, getting them to contact their Congress representatives to take action and fix this crisis. This is something that impacts us directly. More than 400 UCLA students have signed petitions, made phone calls, and lobbied their Congress representatives on the affordable birth control crisis.”
“Access to affordable birth control is common-sense public policy, and something we can all agree on. That’s why Congress should take immediate action on legislation that will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies,” said PPLA’s Josel.
More information is available at www.PlannedParenthood.org or www.ppaction.org/campaign/2007_bcprice. Students wishing to get involved can email UCLA Reproductive Health Interest Group at rhig@ucla.edu
CONTACT:
Elissa Bradley
<elissarita @ yahoo.com>
UCLA School of Public Health Graduate Student
Reproductive Health Interest Group