US university students are paying about five times more for the birth-control pill than they were a few months ago, due to a provision in the Deficit Reduction Act. Many lawmakers say the provision, which prevents drug companies from donating the pill to campuses as a way to attract brand loyalty, was an unintended consequence of the legislation.
Activists, including actress Amber Tamblyn, want to fix the mistake and are lobbying Congress to pass the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act. They say there is no good reason to prevent the donation of medicines, which reduce the price of the pill for struggling college students. With the pill spiking to more than $50 a month (from $12) some female students report taking up more part-time work, or cutting back on their grocery or social spending.
Still others, including proponents of abstinence, argue that it is irresponsible and detrimental to student health to distribute discounted oral contraception that does not prevent STDs.
Will the price of the pill make it unfordable to some, and therefore lead to more unintended pregnancies, or will students just have less beer money? Is it fair that the financial burden imposed by the law is disproportionately felt by female students?
Levi's
Givenchy
Camilla Skovgaard
"Still others, including proponents of abstinence, argue that it is irresponsible and detrimental to student health to distribute discounted oral contraception that does not prevent STDs."
1Since it was the practice to discount the pills in the past, this doesn't seem relevent. And if killing the discount was an 'unintended' consequence of legislation, I don't see why it shouldn't be fixed.
Abstinence is free
2abstinence may be free but that lifestyle may not be appropriate for everyone. we can't ask everyone to live like someone thinks they should. making birth control affordable for college students will make them more sexually responsible whether some people like that thought or not. responsibility is power.
3I think that preventing unintended pregnancies is a good thing.
You don't like welfare? You should support the pill being available to young people. You don't like abortion? You should support the pill being available to young people.
"abstinence may be free but that lifestyle may not be appropriate for everyone. we can't ask everyone to live like someone thinks they should. "
Very well said. It is not immoral to be a sexually active adult.
4Damn sounds like goood lovin is an A-1 priority. Not sure if I could go hungry for a lay though. I don't envy you lady's here.
In the article "Many lawmakers say the provision, which prevents drug companies from donating the pill to campuses as a way to attract brand loyalty, was an unintended consequence of the legislation." Sounds like all they need is an amendment and every one his happy again.
5zeze, abstinence involves self-control, and I guess we can't expect anyone to have that....
6UnDave, if a person is taking medication to prevent pregnancy, they have to do it well before the sexual encounter. To me, that IS self control.
And adult having sex does not mean that they are an out of control sexual beast. It means that they are human. The hormones that cause sexual arousal are made from nature, they didn't come from MTV or soda. To try and shame people because they enjoy a healthy and natural part of life is just not right, IMO.
I don't think that promiscuity is a good thing. But sex does not equal promiscuity. They are 2 different things.
7thank you jillness-- i was holding my tounge. beautiful.
8sex with more than one person is promiscuity. The point is, control your desires until you can afford to have children (emotionally and financially).
9But why would assume that women having sex are having sex indiscriminately?
What if you're in a relationship and simply want to prevent pregnancy?
What if you're married and you and your spouse are in college and don't want to get pregnant?
These are adult women we're talking about here, not kids in high school.
10If you can't afford to have children, wait to get married. If you're not married, exercise abstinence. It's not that difficult, except for those who have never exercisd that before.
11because i dont want to have children does that mean i should never have sex though? where does that argument end? i can make adult choices for myself in regards to money, education, work, medical, but when it comes to sex i'm not allowed to chooose for myself and protect myself?
12"sex with more than one person is promiscuity"
A woman can get pregnant from a man she has been dating for 10 years just as easily as she can from a man she has known for 10 minutes.
Just because a woman is on the pill does not mean she has multiple partners. It doesn't mean she is loose with her sexuality. It means she doesn't want to get pregnant.
13"because i dont want to have children does that mean i should never have sex though? where does that argument end? i can make adult choices for myself in regards to money, education, work, medical, but when it comes to sex i'm not allowed to chooose for myself and protect myself?"
Well said!
14Jesse - If you don't want to get pregnant, buy the pill yourself. You're married, that's fine. If you're not married and can't afford the pill, don't have sex.
Jillnesss - You are correct that a woman can get pregnant from someone she just met as easily as someone she has known for 10 years. My argument is she'll never get pregnant from someone she doesn't have sex with. If women don't want to get pregnant, don't have sex. I'm tired of counselling young adults who don't think about the consequences of their actions, and then want to blame someone else because suddenly they feel their life is ruined by this pregnancy.
15Hey I say let the leglislation stand and speed up the FDA approval of the MALE birth control pill!
Its about time THEY took some responsibility!
16If you want to protect yourself, buy it yourself. Don't look for a free or governmental handout
But what do I know, I'm just a man....
17To lighten the atmosphere -
What does procrastination and masturbation have in common?
In the end, you're only screwing yourself...
18Thats right, just a man.
The birth control pill is something that really shows the patriarchy of society. A woman can only get pregnant maybe a few days of the month, but we're supposed to pay for and take a pill every single day? Yet a man can get a woman pregnant EVERY SINGLE DAY and he takes NOTHING and does NOTHING??
That just ain't right.
I bet you ladies never thought I'd have that opinion!!
19Don't knock masturbation, its sex with someone I love!!
20Jillness, I agree with your statement that the pill doesn't mean promiscuity, but I do think college and high school students (speaking as a young adult in the community here) tend to be careless with sex in terms of the number of partners and commitment and are promiscuous.
My comment was half-sarcastic because while I don't agree with sex outside of serious commitment I don't believe in imposing my morality on anyone else. If companies want to pay for this fine, I would disagree in cases where tax dollars pay for someone elses sexual preferences.
I will grant you that birth control and sex-ed is useful to curb abortion and unwanted pregnancies and disease (I believe), and since kids/young adults WILL have sex no matter how much I don't agree with it, I am compelled to support tax funded programs on sex-ed and free birth control.
21I meant to say "and are promiscious in many cases" (Not everyone); college isn't that wild
22"If you don't want to get pregnant, buy the pill yourself."
There are people who want to DONATE pills to people. I don't see why this would be a bad thing?
"If women don't want to get pregnant, don't have sex."
This is just not realistic. The vast majority of people in this country have had sex. There are many tools out there that prevent pregnancy, and it is unreasonable to tell people to ignore these advances and instead ignore their natural instincts.
The reason that the US has a higher teen pregnancy rate than any other industrialized nation is because we still can't have mature and realistic discussions about sex. Abstinence only sex education has been shown to increase "back door" sex and oral. It increases STDs. Trying to shame people into one kind of morality hasn't worked. Other countries have tried different approaches, and they HAVE worked. We all want to prevent unwanted pregnancies, let's realistically work towards our common goal.
23There are many tools out there that prevent pregnancy, and it is unreasonable to tell people to ignore these advances and instead ignore their natural instincts.
Ok go sleep with anything you want, as long as it feels good?
24"Jillness, I agree with your statement that the pill doesn't mean promiscuity, but I do think college and high school students (speaking as a young adult in the community here) tend to be careless with sex in terms of the number of partners and commitment and are promiscuous"
I agree about tendancies in that age group, but I don't think the pill influences this behavior. I think it has far more to do with sexual hormones at that time in life, and being free from parents.
They are going to have sex with or without the pill. At least if a woman goes to a clinic to get the pill, she is also taking a step of discussing her sexuality (and all the responsibilities) with a medical professional.
I don't think the availability of the pill creates increased sexual behavior. I think it prevents increased sexual behavior from being destructive.
25"Ok go sleep with anything you want, as long as it feels good?"
That is not what I said at all. Where did you get "sleep with anything" from what I said????
As I have said before, pushing abstinence has not worked.
26Cabaker is going to be mad when she finds out someone else is using her computer!
27If it's a natural instinct, and we shouldn't ignore it, where are you actually going with that?
28I'm with Cabaker! I hate, hate, HATE how whenever talk of absitence, birth control, etc. is brought up it is women who are blamed for being promiscuous and harming society with their unplanned spawn. But the last time I checked it takes two to tango and outside of Jurassic Park we women do not have the ability to reproduce on our own.
I'm not someone who will pander to these absitence people either because it is not realistic in today's society to expect people to be abstinent. And maybe I'm making myself sound like a loose woman, but sex is fun and I never had any intention of waiting until I was married and I have enjoyed it with multiple partners. If you educate yourself about the risks and take measures to protect yourself, I see nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately, that burden seems to fall mainly on women so we are the ones who are hurt by legislation like this.
29janneth that made me laugh so hard out loud!
you rock!
30OK just to clarify. This was not a government handout. This was drug companies donating the pill to college health centers as a marketing tool. It seems that most agree the prohibition was a unintended consequence of the recent law.
31"If it's a natural instinct, and we shouldn't ignore it, where are you actually going with that?"
That we can't stop it. It is like stopping the tide from coming in. Young adults will have sex. Instead of trying to shame people out of doing it, why don't we work with reality and try to make that better? Most adults by the time they are seniors in college have had sex. We have to face reality. There is a very healthy, happy medium between no sex and rampant, indiscriminate sex. Women are not just one extreme or the other, nun or hoe.
I also think that it is wrong to shame something that is a natural function of the human body. I feel that the taboo of it makes things worse because it limits honest and educational discussion.
32"Hey I say let the leglislation stand and speed up the FDA approval of the MALE birth control pill!
Its about time THEY took some responsibility!"
I am in absolute agreement with this. And it ruffles my feathers that when people discuss birth control, people automatically start talking about promiscuous women, who just can't control themselves. None of these discussions seem to give equal time to the men, who, I'm guessing (and I could be wrong!) are the ones having sex with women. But where's the criticism over their multiple sexual partners, or their lack of responsibility?
Arg.
How about we just let other adults make their own decisions, provided they're not doing anything illegal, without condemning the lot of them?
33Come on Dave, I love ya but you are NOT a woman! If you were, what would you do in this situation? NOT have sex? really? are you really serious? If you're 19, 20 years old, your hormones are off the charts, you're at your physical peak... would you REALLY just not have sex?
I agree with you that it's a pretty clear-cut choice. to have sex, or not to have sex. black and white. But it's gonna happen. A good majority of us are probably here on earth because someone chose not to have sex before they were married.
I totally agree with Jillness's
statement that if you don't like abortion and you don't like welfare and unwanted babies, the best thing to do make the pill available to them, and affordably.
AND your argument that you shouldn't have sex until you can afford the consequences is something I tell my younger friends, and what I will tell my children. Still, if they want to do it, there's little anybody can do to stop it!
I also liked your joke, but I liked Cabaker's response more.
34maybe not a majority of us are here because of it, but a lot of us!
35also, make the pill affordable and available to the young ladies, not the unwanted babies. at that point, it's pretty useless to them or their mothers.
36I think the whole thing is ridculous. I mean, let's be serious, people are going to have sex. Especially college age people. That's just reality. I think that birth control should be affordable to all who want it. It prevents unwanted pregnancy. I mean, you can argue that abstinence is the best option, which is true, but in reality, not everyone is going to go that route.
37UnDave35 why are you trying to make women out to be a bunch of Hoe's? LOL! This about birth control, period, regardless of number of partners, relationships, frequency of sex, or anything you're talking about.
Some people are allergic to latex condoms and things like I.U.D. and diaphragms can be very invasive and uncomfortable to some women.
38I know a girl who used to TELL guys she met that she was allergic to latex. Like it was an interesting fact about herself to share over a drink. Kind of like, oh, I play piano. Or I like to salsa dance. now that girl was a HO!
39Yes well considering the tactless time and place of her delivery I'm sure she hoe'd with the best of them.
40Another perspective on the debate - birth control also has legitimate medicinal/therapeutic advantages for many women. In addition to being birth control it helps with cramps, many reproductive disorders, acne, etc. I practiced abstinence throughout college and beyond. However, I desperately needed *birth control* for a purpose other than birth control. I was very fortunate that I was able to obtain it from the school pharmacy at a lower rate.
Additionally, I see no problem with anyone using birth control as a method of oral contraception, in addition to practicing safe sex. I encourage it. I would rather go to the clinic with my friend to get The Pill, then have her get an abortion, or have her realize that her future options are limited because of an unplanned pregnancy. The high cost of birth control is a burden for many women. Think about it, it is almost $600/year! That said, it is still cheaper and easier than unplanned pregnancy.
My solution, I would make my BF/guy I am sleeping with, pay half of the price ;0)
41I got my birth control for free, but they are now charging it. I was able to get on a program to get it paid for me since I'm a poor college student, but it still stinks for people that have to pay for it.
42this is an interesting debate, to be sure....anyone who's read, oh, i don't know, ANY statistics recently, KNOWS that folks of all ages have sex. no debate. it is how it is. NO MATTER how you feel about it, they do it. ALOT of them would happily purchase a DECENTLY priced birth control. i mean, if you don't want kids, why would you even WANT to go through the pain of pregnancy and abortion/adoption?
the point of the article doesn't even really TALK ABOUT the fight of sex or abstinence...THE POINT IS that a RESPONSIBLE law, barring drug companies from gifting scripts when it is JUST to gain company loyalty through new customer, has barred many companies from DONATING birth control to universities. If a company WANTS to DONATE birth control, i don't CARE what their reasons are. Less unexpected babies will ALWAYS mean less unexpected welfare mothers. how many of you ACTUALLY see this as a bad thing?!
43this is an interesting debate, to be sure....anyone who's read, oh, i don't know, ANY statistics recently, KNOWS that folks of all ages have sex. no debate. it is how it is. NO MATTER how you feel about it, they do it. ALOT of them would happily purchase a DECENTLY priced birth control. i mean, if you don't want kids, why would you even WANT to go through the pain of pregnancy and abortion/adoption?
the point of the article doesn't even really TALK ABOUT the fight of sex or abstinence...THE POINT IS that a RESPONSIBLE law, barring drug companies from gifting scripts when it is JUST to gain company loyalty through new customer, has barred many companies from DONATING birth control to universities. If a company WANTS to DONATE birth control, i don't CARE what their reasons are. Less unexpected babies will ALWAYS mean less unexpected welfare mothers. how many of you ACTUALLY see this as a bad thing?!
44Don't worry Dave! We still love ya!!
45yep, still love ya dave! have a good weekend!
46I'm feeling the love
You all have a good weekend too. Time to go play with the kids
47You could easily SAVE the money by not including sexual intimacy as part of your "dating" scene.
Kids today do the "hi, I'm Pixie, let's have sex before we exchange last names." Where did THAT attitude come from? Oh, yeah, their parents were raised by the hippie generation and were never taught morals and ethics. And it shows.
If you don't want kids, then do not engage in activities that could lead to pregnancy.
If you don't want STDs, then you don't engage in activities, orally or otherwise, that could lead to an STD.
There is nothing wrong with abstinence and there's nothing wrong with "secondary abstinence" -- a person can quit and become celibate until marriage. It's not as if anyone must have sex to live and breathe and eat and sleep.
Keep your legs together and your pants zipped and learn what ROMANCE means. Respect yourself and respect other people. You are not the sum of your parts, you are more than the sum. You are better than your urges and impulses. Ever wonder what it would be like to fly? Did you follow through and jump off a cliff? Well, having sex is like that. And the pill is not a parachute. You can still catch HIV/AIDs when using the pill.
So let's be honest with ourselves . . . let's get to know ourselves first . . . and then, let's get to know a lot of other people. And having sex is not a part of "getting to know you." But learning how that person treats others, treats his/her parents and siblings, handles stressful situations, how many friends he/she has, and how that person reacts over a twelve to eighteen month period of time BEFORE you even consider unzipping and pulling down your panties. AND by that time, if you're still together, you'll have grown in love. And if not, you don't have the baggage of sexual intimacy horning in on your other relationships.
And who made it a rule that you can only date one person at a time? Did that start when having sexual intimacy right after the apartment/dorm room/house front door opened? When I was young, we dated four or six or ten at a time. And hand holding was considered first base. And it was a time of romance and caring and kindness. And a lot of other things. Go ask your grandparents and great grand parents if they're still around.
48the true irony in all of this is that credit card companies can set up a table on a college campus and convince kids to sign up for a $5,000 limit card just to get a free domino's pizza, yet girls who want to make an intelligent, conscious decision about their own reproductive system has to pay up to $50/month for birth control pills.
for those of you here who have never gone through it (ahem, men) you have no idea what it's like to even get birth control. even at planned parenthood (which you're probably against as well) you have to go through a medical examination (an invasive one, at that) and speak with a doctor or nurse before you are given pills. it's not as simple as walking into a walgreens and buying a bottle of aleve. and the pill is the easiest of all of them... young women have had to go through all kinds of hell to protect themselves from pregnancy - depo provera shots, norplant, IUDs, etc. i'd love to see a man go in for a shot of hormones every three months from a needle that's 11 inches long. most would cry and run out with their tail between their legs.
if you want to take away a young woman's access to birth control then you should probably also consider mandatory paternity tests and imprisonment for deadbeat dads who walk away from a woman and "her" baby after they've had their 30 seconds of fun. yes, i said 30 seconds for a reason.
49Can't you still go to Planned Parenthood and get the pill cheaply? just curiuous. I am sick of the government being in my bedroom!
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