Spring Break
Group fights to lower cost of birth control pill
Hayley McCullough
Issue date: 11/12/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
by Hayley McCullough
Daily Lobo
The cost of oral contraceptives at the Student Health Center went up this year, but a student group is raising money to help students cover the increase.
Prices raised from between $5 and $15 per month to $25 to $50 per month, said Shannon Niebuhr, a member of the Reproductive Justice Coalition.
"If students don't have scholarships or are paying for college themselves, and they are trying to pay for their birth control, that can be very detrimental to their budget," Niebuhr said.
The Reproductive Justice Coalition will be in Smith Plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today to raise money for students who can't afford birth control.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 caused the price increase. The act forced drug companies that gave discounts to college health centers to pay more to participate in Medicaid, so the companies stopped giving discounts.
The Student Health Center had enough discounted birth control to last until the middle of the spring semester, but it ran out.
The organization will also be advocating to lower the cost at the event.
Students will be asked to fill out postcards addressed to state legislators to tell them why birth control prices should be reduced, said Molly Maguire-Marshall, a member of the organization.
The postcards will be mailed by the coalition, she said.
UNM faculty and staff were asked to make pledges for every call or postcard sent, Maguire-Marshall said.
"We basically contacted every professor at UNM, one way or another, and told them what we were doing," she said, "If they were in support of us, they would be really generous."
Most faculty members made a flat donation of $50, she said.
Some faculty members made $2 pledges for every phone call, she said. Others pledged 50 cents for every 10 postcards sent,
she said.
There will also be a donation box and baked goods for sale to help raise money, Niebuhr said.
Daily Lobo
The cost of oral contraceptives at the Student Health Center went up this year, but a student group is raising money to help students cover the increase.
Prices raised from between $5 and $15 per month to $25 to $50 per month, said Shannon Niebuhr, a member of the Reproductive Justice Coalition.
"If students don't have scholarships or are paying for college themselves, and they are trying to pay for their birth control, that can be very detrimental to their budget," Niebuhr said.
The Reproductive Justice Coalition will be in Smith Plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today to raise money for students who can't afford birth control.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 caused the price increase. The act forced drug companies that gave discounts to college health centers to pay more to participate in Medicaid, so the companies stopped giving discounts.
The Student Health Center had enough discounted birth control to last until the middle of the spring semester, but it ran out.
The organization will also be advocating to lower the cost at the event.
Students will be asked to fill out postcards addressed to state legislators to tell them why birth control prices should be reduced, said Molly Maguire-Marshall, a member of the organization.
The postcards will be mailed by the coalition, she said.
UNM faculty and staff were asked to make pledges for every call or postcard sent, Maguire-Marshall said.
"We basically contacted every professor at UNM, one way or another, and told them what we were doing," she said, "If they were in support of us, they would be really generous."
Most faculty members made a flat donation of $50, she said.
Some faculty members made $2 pledges for every phone call, she said. Others pledged 50 cents for every 10 postcards sent,
she said.
There will also be a donation box and baked goods for sale to help raise money, Niebuhr said.
Anonymous posts are no longer allowed. They will not show up.
You must be logged in to post!
Be the first to comment on this story