500 signatures reached
To: Health Minister
Reduce unwanted pregnancies- make all contraception FREE in 2020
This campaign has ended.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on the 8th Amendment endorsed an ancillary recommendation for the provision of free contraception to reduce the number of crisis pregnancies in Ireland.
We urgently need legislation to ensure all methods of contraception are available to all in need for free.
Why is this important?
At the end of 2018 Minister for Health Simon Harris said that he wanted to do everything he could to reduce crisis pregnancies including providing greater access to free contraception. He said that it would be a legislative priority in 2019 to make female contraception more widely available.[1]
The expense of accessing contraception can be prohibitive. Many women have neither medical cards nor funds for contraceptives, or emergency contraception. They also often have to pay for an initial doctor’s consultation as well as repeat appointments for prescription renewal.
The proposal for “expanded access” to condoms is welcome, people need to be able to avail of the best form of contraception for their bodies and situation.
We call on the new Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly to ensure that free access and free provision of all methods of contraception to the public is promptly introduced as soon as possible in 2020.