A hilarious new video makes a powerful case for saving copay-free birth control.
Starring H. Jon Benjamin as ... a feminist condom!
For these actors, it's the role of a lifetime — or rather, the role of ... something tens of millions of women in the U.S. have used in their lifetimes.
I'm talking, of course, about birth control.
Starring Rachel Dratch ("Saturday Night Live"), Desi Lydic ("The Daily Show"), H. Jon Benjamin ("Bob's Burgers"), and Franchesca Ramsey (MTV's "Decoded"), this new video makes a funny and impassioned plea to save access to zero-copay contraception.
"We can't afford to lose control!" exclaims Dratch as a sentient supply of birth control pills. Benjamin's feminist condom (seriously) echoes the call while wearing the tiniest of protest hats. It's ... it's a sight to see.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 55 million women in the U.S. have access to copay-free contraception, and that's a good for all of us — even men.
Sure, a recent study found that 52% of men don't think they personally benefit from birth control (and maybe that's a case for better sex ed in the U.S. because, um, come on, guys). But the truth is that when contraception is accessible, there are fewer unplanned pregnancies; and when there are fewer unplanned pregnancies, the government (and taxpayers) save money.
How much money, you ask? Try $21 billion per year.
The video PSA is funny and cute, but the topic is seriously important.
With the future of the American health care system up in the air, there's no telling what changes await.
That's why folks behind the Keep Birth Control Copay Free campaign put together a list of steps you can take to ask both parties in Congress to work together (bipartisanship FTW!) to ensure that reforms made to the Affordable Care Act include access to contraceptives.
Seriously, this isn't a Democrat or Republican issue. Photo by Keep Birth Control Copay Free.
As outlined in the video, without insurance, contraception can be prohibitively expensive — with birth control pills costing as much as $50 per month, birth control patches coming in at around $80 per month, and long-term birth control like IUDs costing more than $1,000.
So if you're ready to take action, head on over to Keep Birth Control Copay Free's website for some shareable infographics to post on social media and their town hall toolkit for advice on how to talk to your representatives about this important issue.