Birth control bill a step in the right direction

Media Credit: Robert Adams [Click to enlarge]

The Oregon State Senate voted overwhelmingly last week to approve House Bill 2700, requiring Oregon health insurance providers to include birth control coverage in their prescription drug packages. Referred to as the "Access to Birth Control Act," the bill passed with a 24-5 vote and will take effect beginning in January of 2008. Gov. Kulongoski applauded the legislation, which many in the state consider long overdue.

The issue of reproductive rights has been magnified in recent years, largely because of its value as a wedge issue. Americans have sharply contrasting views on birth control, and because of the issue's divisiveness, politicians on all sides of the political spectrum have come to realize its value as a means of appealing to the emotions of their voting bases.

The significance of the issue is not completely lost to partisan politics. Birth control has increased in prevalence over the past few decades, and now plays a central role in many American women's sexual health. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 98 percent of reproductive-aged women in America used some form of contraceptive between 1982 and 2002, a large majority of whom used condoms and birth control pills.

Contraceptives are so common that even the federal government has recognized the necessity of providing it at a low cost. The Family Planning Expansion Project is a federal program that offers free birth control and reproductive health care to men and women. Offered on campus through the Student Health Center, FPEP has allows low-income men and women access to free contraceptives, for eight years allowing them to have better contraceptive coverage than many insured people.

College-age people in general, are among the least insured age group in America, a fact that brings to light one of the largest failings of the recent Oregon act: It helps only the insured.

Oregon needs to prioritize making contraceptives available to those without prescription drug coverage. Beyond that step, the state should combat the serious and growing problem of the young and uninsured.

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