Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Health

France to give free access to contraception for women aged up to 25

FILE PHOTO: French Health Minister Olivier Veran speaks during a news conference on the government strategy for the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Paris, France, April 22, 2021. Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters

France will make access to birth control free for women aged up to 25 years old from January 1 onwards, in a new measure that will cost the state 21 million euros ($24.8 million) per year, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday.

The policy announcement comes as President Emmanuel Macron's government prepares for the 2022 election campaign.

"There is a decline in contraception use among some young women and it is mainly for financial reasons," Veran told France 2 television.

"It is unbearable that women cannot protect themselves, cannot have access to contraception if they want to make that choice because it is too expensive," he added.

Until now, the age limit for free access to contraception in France was 18 years.

($1 = 0.8461 euros)

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.