Group advocating for universal coverage of contraceptives in Sask.

Inflation affecting the basic costs of every-day items has left people re-evaluating what products are “necessities” to purchase.

A new advocacy group in Saskatchewan doesn’t want to see people in the province making that choice when it comes to birth control.

Adrian Teare, one of five co-founders of Universal Access to Contraceptives Saskatchewan, said the group has a goal of providing people with uteruses in the province with options.

With about 40 per cent of pregnancies in Canada unplanned and a third of women undergoing a termination of pregnancy at some point in their life, Teare said there is a significant need for access to contraceptives that is unhindered by price.

In a Saskatchewan context, Teare said the province is among those with the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy.

“It really does become a life-altering event for a lot of people,” Teare said.

Should contraceptives be available to people, Teare said many would elect to use it — however, price ends up being a prohibitive factor.

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) and other implants can cost hundreds of dollars, a big expense for those without insurance to cover, especially as inflation drives up the cost of other products.

“You really do have to prioritize what becomes a necessity,” Teare shared. “Spending their money on contraception might not be as important as putting food on their table.”

Teare himself became involved in the cause of contraceptives a few years ago after taking part in a day of action through the Canadian Federation of Medical Students.

Now a third-year medical student, Teare saw B.C. act to make contraceptive access universal in that province and decided to reach out to colleagues in Saskatchewan to see if the same could be done here.

“Everyone was really excited (and) really on board,” he said.

The group is still in its infancy — only a few months old, comprised mostly of first- to third-year medical students — but has received support from Access B.C. and is in discussions with Saskatoon Sexual Health.

Teare hopes to see the group’s partnerships continue to expand to others in the health-care field and those involved with contraceptives, as well as other advocacy organizations, “to develop a broad coalition and a broad community united behind this issue.”

“We really feel that it’s important to give anybody that has the ability to get pregnant the autonomy and the ability to choose how they want to proceed with that by providing contraception without the barrier of cost,” Teare shared.

On April 6, Paul Merriman, the province’s health minister, told media the Government of Saskatchewan is “content” and “satisfied” with its current programs and approaches to contraceptive access.

“We’re not having any active discussions on that,” Merriman said shortly after B.C. announced it would be providing universal access to contraceptives to residents.

He said Saskatchewan’s government currently does support cost-effective contraception in the form of condoms offered by community-based organizations and social support for individuals struggling to make ends meet.

Merriman added he thinks Saskatchewan does have good accessibility for women’s health, including access to abortion — a choice he said a woman is able to make, if needed — and to the abortion pill, Mifegymiso, through pharmacies in the province.

“I think there are lots of options out there,” Merriman said.

Teare said his group has heard these comments and thinks access to contraception should be recognized as a universal right, as part of people’s right to health care. From that perspective, he said it doesn’t seem right for that standard to differ from province to province.

Further, he said B.C. has now set a precedent — one he thinks Saskatchewan could follow quickly to prove its leadership among the prairie provinces in this area.

While the programs currently available to people in the province are valuable, Teare said there are important aspects of universal access that would go beyond what is currently being done. Access to condoms is positive, he said, but they have lower efficacy rates than IUDs when it comes to preventing pregnancy.

Condom use also leaves autonomy out of the hands of the person with the uterus — ultimately the one who would bear the brunt of future consequences, he said.

“I think it’s important to offer people as many options as possible when it comes to reproductive health,” Teare said.

While applauding access to abortion in the province, Teare compared the cost of reactionary measures like terminating a pregnancy in Regina (about $2,200) and a live birth without complications ($8,000) to preventative measures.

Teare said his group calculated that the cost of a live birth would cover contraception for 33 women in Saskatchewan for a year, based on data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Those are costs he thinks the government would do well to consider.

Teare said Universal Access to Contraceptives Saskatchewan will be at the Regina Legislative Building on Wednesday as a guest of the Saskatchewan NDP as the group continues to share its message.