'A fundamental right': Saskatchewan advocacy group pushes for cost free contraception

The federal government announced plans to include contraception in their National Pharmacare plan earlier this year, and one Saskatchewan advocacy group is hopeful the province will jump on board.

"There are so many barriers to accessing contraception in the province, cost being one of the main ones. It can cost up to $500 for a hormonal, intrauterine device. It can cost $300 to $400 a year for hormonal contraceptive pills, which is a huge number for a lot of people across the province." Brynne Stebbings, co founder of Universal Access to Contraception (UAC) Saskatchewan said.

UAC Sask has been advocating for this since their inception in March of 2023, and members are hoping to see Saskatchewan follow British Columbia and Manitoba in opting into this plan and providing cost free contraceptives to their residents.

Federally, the act was introduced as Bill C-64 in June and has been passed through to the third stage of readings in the House of Commons, awaiting approval in the senate. However, co-founder of UAC Sask expressed that the provincial government being in favour of this plan can make a difference.

"Saskatchewan has an opportunity to be the next one to do so. And even though national pharmacare is on the horizon, it would be really groundbreaking and really show the residents of the province that they're cared for,” Thakkar said.

The multiple uses of contraceptives is also something that UAC Sask works to educate the public on.

"Contraceptives are not only used for pregnancy prevention, they're also used for a variety of gynecological conditions and diseases," Stebbings explained.

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With a provincial election coming up at the end of the month, there are mixed reactions from the two major parties.

A statement from the Saskatchewan Party said “at this time, further details are required from the federal government on its proposal for coverage and specific funding commitment for Saskatchewan to understand if it will enhance the scope of existing Drug Plan benefits."

According to NDP candidate Vicki Mowat, her party will be opting in to the federal government's plan.

"Our plan is also focused on reducing costs for the people of Saskatchewan after years of tax and fee hikes from Scott Moe, so signing onto the national pharmacare program just makes sense. This program will lower costs and barriers for women, who could spend upwards of $10,000 over their lifetime on contraceptives,” she said.

Regardless of who is in power come November, the UAC Sask team plans to continue advocating to make contraceptives accessible to everyone.

"People take medications every day of their life. They need access to these things without caring about paying for their groceries in comparison to paying for their medications. They shouldn't have to decide between those things,” Thakkar said.

“This is a fundamental right to be able to access health care, and that includes access to reproductive decision making and those resources that are required to do so and so this will really, really change the lives of people.”