Choice USA: Students Launch Campaign to Restore Birth Control Costs on Campus
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2008
3:06 PM
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CONTACT: Choice USA
Rebecca Wiegand
(o) 510-238-8975, (m) 202-427-7450
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Students Launch Campaign to Restore Birth Control Costs on Campus
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WASHINGTON, DC - March 25 - Choice USA has responded to the many calls from students wanting answers to the question, “Why did my birth control get so expensive?”
Through this campaign students will urge university and college administrations to stand with them in pressuring Congress to restore campus birth control prices, prioritize student health, and lessen their financial burden.
The cost of contraceptives for students has risen drastically around the nation in the past year because of a change that came into effect in 2007. Entitled the Deficit Reduction Act, this change has allowed pharmaceutical companies to stop a long-time-held bulk discount to universities, college health clinics and other safety net providers to subsidize the rising cost of birth control for students, young women and low-income women. The Deficit Reduction Act has forced millions of women to make important healthcare decisions based on their budget, not their health needs.
“Just add birth control to the ever growing list of financial concerns on the shoulders of students. Rising tuition, books for classes, health insurance, decent food on campus, and keeping up with technology; it’s a wonder that students can focus on their educations.” said Choice USA Executive Director, Kierra Johnson.
The Choice USA chapter at the University of Michigan has already demonstrated what a successful campaign can look like; their administration has already signed a letter submitted to legislators, encouraging them to restore the discounts previously given to campus health centers. Other schools like the University of Pittsburgh, Willamette College, Mills College and the University of Alabama will be collecting petitions, educating their peers, and fundraising to help subsidize students who can’t afford the price increases. Choice USA is disseminating campaign kits to aid students in organizing on their campuses. For more information, visit www.choiceusa.org.
Choice USA mobilizes and provides ongoing support to the diverse, upcoming generation of leaders who promote and protect reproductive choice both now and in the future. We are dedicated to the right of each person worldwide to decide when and if they will have sex, when and if they will be pregnant, and when and if they will have a child. In order to make those personal decisions, accurate information and safe, legal reproductive health services must be available to everyone.
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