Contraceptives should be added to N.W.T.'s extended health benefits, advocates say

For some people, body autonomy is not an option as the cost of contraceptives is out of reach.

It's a problem longtime Yellowknifer Meggin Creed knows all too well. She had to make the choice over a decade ago when she was in her early 30s, a single mother of three children and on a tight budget.

"The onus isput on you, as a woman, to make sure you're not getting pregnant," Creed said, noting accidents can happen even using protection.

"But then it's your fault because you didn't prevent it, and you're like, 'But I couldn't afford the birth control.'"

Working in Yellowknife at the time, Creed was on oral contraceptives, also known as the birth control pill, when her doctor suggested she switch to a hormonal IUD a device put in the uterus that can prevent pregnancy for three to seven years, depending on the brand.

Her excitement for the new method came to an abrupt halt, though, when Creed saw the $500 price tag and realized her employer at the time didn't cover IUDs.

"The one thing that was going to actually help me through five years and be more cost effective than birth control pills wasn't covered, which was super crazy," she said.

It took about a year before Creed was able to afford the IUD, when she found work with a private company that covered 80 per cent of the cost.

But before she was able to get it, she got pregnant.

Creed was in a committed relationship at the time, but she had only been with her partner for a couple of months. With three children already at home, she made the choice to terminate the pregnancy.

"I wish I hadn't have had to make those choices, and I wouldn't have had to make those choices had I been able to afford the really great option that would have made sure none of that happened," Creed said.

Contraceptives not accessible to everyone

It has been over a decade since Creed went through her experience, but the cost barrier she faced still persists today.

An estimated 2,200residents do not have any access to any benefits, according to the territorial government.

The government's extended health benefit policyhas seen little change in the last 34 years and "no longer meets the objectives of fairness and equity as a publicly funded benefit program," the Health and Social Service website states.

The territorial governmenthas a basic health care plan that covers basic hospital and medical treatment, but it does not cover prescriptions prescribed outside of the hospital, which includes hormonal contraceptives.

The topic was a recent discussion on the Facebook page Yellowknife and NWT's Rants & Raves, when someone posting anonymously wrote they were "sick of menstrual health products costing an arm and a leg," citing a $500 cost for an IUD.

The post garnered more than 30 people responding, sharing similar frustrations of people having to cover the cost of contraceptives.

According to Planned Parenthood Toronto, hormonal methods such as the birth control pill, patch and ring cost between $20 to $35 a month at pharmacies; hormonal injections given every three months cost about $35 per injection at pharmacies; and IUDs cost $375 to $500 at pharmacies.

The cost barrier is an issue, FOXY executive director Candice Lys said, noting the right to contraceptives is the key to women's empowerment and gender equality.

"I'd love to see contraceptives as a core component of providing access to the 2,000 people in the N.W.T. who don't have any access to insured benefits at this point," Lys said.

"[Contraceptives] should be available to everybody who wants them, so that people can have bodily autonomy and be able to make the best decisions for themselves and for their sexual and reproductive health."

Health benefits survey open until Nov. 23

Health benefits may be covered in other ways, such as a person's employer, programs under the N.W.T. government forMtis; or under the federal program for First Nations and Inuit, but the territorial government is currently asking for feedback on its extended health benefits policy.

Residents have until Nov. 23 to give their feedback.

For Creed, change can't come soon enough.

"It should just maybe not cost women anything, right? I mean, you look at the fact that we really have no control over [reproduction], it's just something our body does we're capable of more than just having babies, and contraceptives is one of the ways to prevent that [so] we should be given the opportunity to access that at either free or extremely affordable rates," Creed said.

"We shouldn't have to choose between a jug of milk or a thing of pills so that I don't have to have another kid."