Ontario NDP pledges free prescription birth control if elected in June

Hormonal birth control pills are seen in this stock photo.. (areeya_ann / Istock.com)

The Ontario NDP is promising to cover all prescription contraception under OHIP if it is elected to form government in June.

“People should not have to shell out $30 a month, every month for years on end, for birth control,” Party Leader Andrea Horwath said in a statement. “And no one who wants contraception should go without because it’s just not in the monthly budget.”

The New Democrats say they could implement free birth control “within weeks” of a victory in June.

• Sign up here for Toronto breaking news alerts straight to your phone or e-mail

The party tells CP24 their plan would cover emergency contraception such as Plan B, all oral contraception pills, intrauterine devices, injections, patches or rings.

Prescription contraception was covered for all youth under the age of 25 under OHIP+, an expansion brought in under the Wynne Liberals in 2017.

The Ford government curtailed the coverage in 2019, making it available only to children and families who didn’t already have access to a private drug benefit plan.

At the federal level, the governing Liberals and the NDP have agreed to phase in drug coverage for all Canadians over the next several years, though details on exact timing and eligibility remain vague.