The birth control pill is the most popular form of contraception used by college-age women--by over one-third of them. But since January of this year, the Pill is no longer offered at a discount to women who visit college health centers and community health clinics. Chalk it up to an oversight in Congressional legislation, perhaps since our reps don't like thinking about young women's sexuality. But the price of the Pill has now skyrocketed, in some cases as high as $50 a month, up from $5 to $7 a month. As an out-of-pocket expense, that's no small increase. Many collegians are still on their parents' health insurance, but to use that insurance means parental awareness of the prescription...and a conversation that many of them may not be ready to have.  My own father and I are very close, but he clung to the notion that I was a virgin when I got married--at age 35. (I wasn't.) And women who seek care at community clinics often have no access to insurance at all.

To be blunt, it certainly takes less money to prevent a child than to raise one (click here to see by exactly how much). As a society, though, don't we want to encourage women to finish their studies without an unplanned pregnancy? Birth control pills should be easily available to all women who need them, regardless of income level or insurance. And the women affected by this legislation generally have the least amount of options. In my ideal world, all contraception would be free, but it should at least be affordable, and not come with such a high price tag (or any judgment).

How do you finance your birth control? Has the cost of contraception ever affected your ability to use it when you wanted to?