On May 13, Virginia families will celebrate and honor our mothers and the hard work they put in every day. As advocates for reproductive health, rights and justice, we know how important it is for every person to have the opportunity to decide whether and when to become a parent or to add to their family. Unfortunately, many people lack access to affordable family planning services and reliable forms of birth control to prevent unintended pregnancies. This lack of access is particularly pronounced for low-income women and women of color. Gov. Ralph Northam has proposed to bridge this gap by increasing access to Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives, or LARCs.
LARCs, like IUDs or the implant, are the most reliable, reversible birth control method currently available, with a success rate of more than 99 percent. Under the supervision of a medical professional, they prevent pregnancy for years and are easily removed when and if a woman decides she’s ready to become pregnant. Unlike the patch or pill, women don’t have to worry about renewing their prescription or making sure to run to the pharmacy for a refill — barriers that often can lead to gaps in prevention. Unfortunately, LARCs can be expensive and are often out of reach for low-income women, who instead may turn to less reliable forms of birth control.
Gov. Northam’s proposal would help remove this financial barrier for people by creating The LARC Access Project.
This program would allocate $6 million in the state budget to increase access to reliable birth control, train doctors and medical professionals on how to insert IUDs and implants and, most importantly, allow Virginians a say in their reproductive future. Members of the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate on both sides of the aisle have come together to support this proposal, understanding that access to birth control is an important component of women’s and all peoples’ health care. A similar program in Colorado was remarkably successful — it reduced the unintended pregnancy rate by 40 percent among teens and by 20 percent among young women.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, there are more than 100,000 uninsured Virginia women who would benefit from the program’s access to the birth control that’s best for them before becoming pregnant. Evidence-based programs proven to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies should just be common sense and enjoy broad, bipartisan support. Unfortunately, that has not been the case with the proposed LARC program.
Opponents of women’s health are trying to block this common-sense program, seeking to exclude some LARC methods and prevent women from accessing family planning services at health centers that also provide safe and legal abortion, like Planned Parenthood. Let us be clear: Virginians should be free to access the birth control method that’s right for them at the quality provider of their choosing, without political interference. Virginians need greater access to healthcare, not less. Women’s health centers like Planned Parenthood and the independent women’s health centers around the state that provide safe and legal abortions are trusted care providers for thousands of Virginians. Many of these health centers also provide a wide range of reproductive healthcare services — like life saving cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment and birth control. Many even provide general check-ups and wellness exams, and some even provide primary care. If not for the health care services available at Planned Parenthood and independent health centers, many patients would have nowhere to turn. Politicians have no business dictating where women can seek care. Period.
The LARC Access Project is common sense: the most effective, long-lasting, reversible best birth control methods available for all Virginians who want to plan and space their pregnancies, saving the commonwealth more than $11.3 million per year in Medicaid costs. Women’s health should never be a political football. We urge the General Assembly to include this project as developed by the governor in their final budget, and we urge readers to contact their delegates and senators to tell them you support healthy women and families and urge them to do the same.
Black is CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and a board member of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. Keene is the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. Scholl is executive director of Progress Virginia. Del Castillo is director of field and advocacy for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. They wrote this column for The News & Advance.