Contraception: the morning after pill will be free for all women without a prescription

The Minister of Health François Braun announced two measures around sexual health: the morning after pill will become free for all women, and a free screening device against all STIs will be put in place.

This Tuesday, September 20, the Minister of Health François Braun announced two new measures concerning STI screening and access to emergency contraception.

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Until now, the morning after pill was free for underage women, who could find it in pharmacies, in screening centers or by contacting a school nurse. This was not the case for adult women, who had to pay between 3 and twenty euros to have a morning after pill in pharmacies.

“The government is taking concrete action to ensure that women no longer give up emergency contraception for financial reasons, the first reason for giving up. At a time when we are witnessing the rise of conservatism in Europe and around the world, our government is once again demonstrating that gender equality and women's right to control their bodies are absolute priorities.' said Isabelle Rome, Minister Delegate for Gender Equality.

The morning after pill will be free

The Minister of Health said that the pill the next day would become free for all women, without restriction. From now on, women will be able to go to a pharmacy to obtain a contraception without a prescription, regardless of age. A “essential achievement for women” according to the Minister of Health.

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“Today, the morning after pill is free and without a prescription only for young underage women, and free with a prescription for those under 26. We had to fight against their difficulties in accessing emergency contraception, because we know that its effectiveness is maximum within 24 hours of the report at risk of pregnancy” , said François Braun.

Free screening tests

In addition to this, screening for all STIs will be implemented. This free screening can be carried out without a prescription for all young people under the age of 26. Until now, only HIV testing was free, and you had to pay to get tested for all other STIs.

“From now on, the possibility of screening will be extended to all sexually transmitted infections to fight as early as possible against the resumption of infections. We are noticing the increase in sexually transmitted infections, specifically Chlamydia and gonococcus. All areas of prevention must be improved. France is lagging behind other European countries. Only 2% of our budget is devoted to prevention, compared to 4% for our neighbours” , explained the Minister of Health.

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These two measures are part of the 2023 social security financing bill, which will be presented to the Council of Ministers on September 26. The Minister of Health also addressed the subject of contraception masculine . He plans to contact the High Authority for Health in order to obtain recommendations from scientific authorities on the subject, and perhaps, to develop contraception for men.