Students protest birth-control prices

A rally for affordable birth control flooded the corner of Craig Street and Forbes Avenue… A rally for affordable birth control flooded the corner of Craig Street and Forbes Avenue yesterday to protest the rising costs of oral contraceptives.

About 12 people from Pitt, Chatham University, Carnegie Mellon University and Planned Parenthood stood outside Kiva Han coffeehouse from 12:30 p.m to 1 p.m. in the rain.

The spot was chosen because of its location between Pitt and CMU, said Adrienne Johnson, a Pitt senior and intern at Planned Parenthood.

Prices for oral contraceptives began doubling at college health centers last year as a result of a change in the Medicaid rebate law, introduced to save almost $40 billion over five years, that ended an incentive for drug companies to provide discounts to colleges.

Manufacturers of birth-control pills now have to pay more money to participate in these spending programs, so they cut costs elsewhere – especially at student health clinics.

The protesters carried pink, black and white signs with statements such as “Birth Control Not Bans” and “Honk 4 Affordable Birth Control.”

Planned Parenthood sponsored the signs as well as stickers and postcards.

Postcards were used to collect signatures and will be sent to Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa. The signatures insist that Congress restore affordable birth control to colleges. It encourages Doyle to persuade his colleagues to take action to reverse the price increases.

The universities of Michigan, Wisconsin, Utah and Nebraska, as well as Columbia, Dartmouth, Barnard and Princeton, have already drafted resolutions urging Congress to fix the pricing.

Johnson said the rally would continue at last night’s Student Government Board meeting, where she is hoping Pitt can come up with a way to put birth control in the budget and get the pills back to the prices they were before.

The four types of birth control affected are Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, NuvaRing, OrthoEvra (the patch) and Dessagin.

Currently, these types of birth control cost $46, $46, $50 and $48, respectively, under brand names at Student Health.

“Some girls pay $15 to $40 per pack of pills. Some pay as much as $60 per month,” Johnson said. “Generic brands are good options, but a lot of girls can’t go switching pills.”

To supplement the rally, the protestors also had a table at last month’s production of “The Vagina Monologues” at Pitt. According to Johnson, they collected about 94 signatures over three nights.

While Johnson said the group doesn’t have a specific goal of how many signatures they hope to collect, her personal goal is 500 by April 18.

Johnson co-created the rally along with support from her supervisor, Erika Fricke.

Fricke, vice president of public affairs at Planned Parenthood, said that this week is National Week of Action on college campuses.

A rally took place at Pitt Greensburg on Monday, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Chatham University will also be holding rallies this week, Fricke said.

Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania was not affected by the act, and both insured and uninsured students can purchase the pill there.