Governor Dunleavy Vetoes One-Year Birth Control Bill
Last Sept. 4, Gov. Dunleavy vetoed the bill that would have required health insurers to dispense an entire year’s worth of birth control prescriptions at one time instead of the current one-to-three-month period.Currently, health insurers only cover one to three months of contraceptives at a time; this makes it difficult for rural and remote Alaskans to access them. Ashley Carrick, a Democratic representative from Fairbanks, drafted the bill and had bipartisan support precisely because it would have helped women in these areas in a significant way. Women who do not have the ability to go to a pharmacy to pick up new prescriptions and who also suffer from the shortcomings of the postal system to reach those areas with medications.
All this leads to dramatic situations: unwanted pregnancies, a higher number of abortions, often in very precarious sanitary conditions, and other problems regarding the care of children who are the result of a problematic relationship or who were not wanted. Some experts believe that better access to drugs and contraceptive methods is essential for women who suffer from controlling and abusive husbands and partners, something all too frequent in these rural and remote areas. Another group seriously harmed by Dunleavy’s veto is teenagers who want confidential access to contraception. According to Carrick, the vetoed bill would have reduced the number of abortions that occur year after year in the most disadvantaged, isolated, and needy areas of the state—quite the opposite of the opinion of those who, like Dunleavy, oppose facilitating access to contraceptives. A spokesman for Governor Dunleavy says the veto is justified because “contraceptives are widely available and forcing insurance companies to provide mandatory coverage for one year is bad policy.” However, the American Medical Association has conducted a study showing that providing patients with a one-year supply of contraceptives reduces unintended pregnancies and healthcare costs. |