Grassroots Momentum for No-Cost Birth Control

Today, Blog for Choice is excited to participate in the "Birth Control: We've Got You Covered" blog carnival, hosted by the National Women's Law Center and Planned Parenthood. We're leveraging the power of the blogosphere in support of no-cost birth control.  

On Tuesday, an Institute of Medicine panel recommended that health-insurance plans cover a full range of FDA-approved contraception without an additional copay. 

If the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopts the experts' recommendation and makes no-cost contraception a benefit required by law, it will be a tremendous advance for women's health. 

Currently, nearly one in three women finds it difficult to pay for birth control.  Making family-planning services available at no cost will help millions of women prevent unintended pregnancy and thereby reduce the need for abortion.

NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation has been rallying grassroots support for no-cost birth control since the beginning of the year. In March, we launched the Birth Control for Me (BC4ME) campaign on college campuses, mobilizing students in favor of this important policy change.

Last month, we unveiled our BC4ME Facebook app, which lets you find out how much you or a woman you know would save if you didn't have to pay out-of-pocket costs for prescription birth control.

More than 21,300 people have found out how much they'd save if no-cost birth control became a reality. Some have shared their stories about what they'd be able to afford with those savings.

How would no-cost birth control benefit you? Use our Facebook app and share it with your friends!