Birth control for everyone!

Chile makes birth control available -- for free -- to all women and girls 14 and over.

Published September 9, 2006 12:05AM (EDT)

We missed this earlier in the week, but we simply had to acknowledge that Chile just keeps getting cooler. First they elected awesome agnostic socialist Michelle Bachelet their first female president. And now they're making birth control available to all women and girls 14 and older. The especially great news is, "birth control" includes both standard contraceptives and emergency contraception. And when we say "available," we mean available free of charge. Plus, young women will be able to get prescriptions for the pill without parental authorization.

Feminist Daily Newswire reports that "The decision was made by the Chilean Health Ministry after the Chilean Center for the Development of Women asked for greater accessibility to EC." Can you imagine what would happen if someone asked the FDA for greater public access to EC? Ahem.

It's fantastic to see a country letting young women make their own reproductive decisions and making birth control equally available to all women, regardless of income level. I sure hope someone in the White House is watching.


By Page Rockwell

Page Rockwell is Salon's editorial project manager.

MORE FROM Page Rockwell


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Broadsheet Love And Sex