French teens to get the Pill for free

http://www.france24.com/en/20121024-french-teenagers-get-contraceptive-pill-free-social-security-women-france-pregnancy



French teenagers aged 15 to 18 will have their contraceptive pills reimbursed 100 percent by the state from the beginning of 2013, Health Minister Marisol Touraine announced on Tuesday.

French Minister for Women’s Rights Najat Vallaud-Belkacem added that the teenagers’ anonymity would be “guaranteed” under the new rules.

The government saw a need to protect teenagers hailing from families where sexuality is a taboo subject. The new measures aim to reduce pregnancies in this age group that result from a mixture of ignorance and lack of access to contraception.

“Providing free contraception is just as important for these teenagers as getting good sex education at school,” said Vallaud-Belkacem, who added that “more than a million” teenage girls in France were currently on the Pill.