Pediatric society calls for access to free contraceptives for everyone under 25
OTTAWA — The Canadian Paediatric Society is recommending that everyone under 25 should get confidential access to free birth control.
In a position statement released Thursday, the society says access to contraception is a basic human right, and the direct costs of unintended youth pregnancies probably exceed $125 million a year.
It says contraception should be funded through provincial, territorial and federal health plans, and that private insurers should cover the full cost of birth control.
It also says insurers should be required to protect confidentiality by not reporting contraceptive purchases to the primary policy holder — usually a parent.