French women under the age of 25 to be given free contraception: Government
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One reason that the government chose the age cap to be 25 is that from the age of 25, young people are no longer part of their parents’ complementary health insurance, which is also known as mutuelle in France
Young French women under the age of 25 will now be offered free contraception from next year, country’s health minister recently announced.
All women under the age of 25 will not be charged for medical appointments, medicines, tests and all other medical procedures related to birth control.
"This will cover hormonal contraception, biological tests that go with it, the prescription of contraception and all care related to this contraception up until the age of 25," Olivier Véran said.
The decision was taken after the government noticed a stark decline in usage of contraception in certain age groups and many locals admitted that the reason was solely financial.
"There is a decline in the use of contraception among a certain number of young women and the main reason for this is financial. It costs too much. It is unacceptable that women cannot protect themselves, cannot have contraception if that’s their choice obviously, because they cannot afford it," Véran explained.
Another reason that the government chose the age cap to be 25 is that from the age of 25, young people are no longer part of their parents’ complementary health insurance, which is also known as mutuelle in France.
Experts believe that due to that, women were opting out of contraception as they felt it was getting expensive for them.
This new programme will cost the French government’s health system, also known as the Assurance Maladie, nearly €21m a year.
Last year, the government noticed that nearly 1,000 girls aged between 12 and 14 had conceived a child and 770 of those had opted for abortion.
Since 2013, contraception has been free for women aged 15 to 18 and since August 2020 it was extended to under 15s too. This programme had led to a decline in number of abortions in the country.
The government is hoping that this new initiative for under 25 women will help them practice safe sex without having to compromise on their health.