On April 7, 2016, the ” Contraception pass Has been officially deleted. This device, launched in 2011, allowed young Ile-de-France residents aged 15 to 16 to benefit from gynecological consultations and contraception devices (pill, condom), blood tests for the purpose of screening… free of charge and anonymously. It was presented in the form of a checkbook, made up of several “coupons” to be presented to health professionals.
However, this Thursday, April 28, 2016, Marisol Touraine declared to be “concerned” by this decision, “a disaster” according to her. “I call Valérie Pécresse, who seems to want to make prevention a strong orientation, not to give up acting in the direction of young girls, young women” she added to the microphone of France Inter. (source)
A cost of approximately € 20,000 per year
An opinion shared by several associations for the defense of women’s rights (such as Dare to feminism or the collective Georgette Sand) as well as by Najat Vallaud-Belkacem. On April 14, 2016, the Minister of National Education tweeted: “30 years after the death of Simone de Beauvoir, Valérie Pécresse puts an end to the Pass Contraception”.
The abolition of the Contraception Pass was indeed defended by Valérie Pécresse, president (LR) of the Ile-de-France region. Its main argument? This system was too expensive (around € 20,000 per year) and was too little used by teenagers: in 5 years, there were only 2000 requests from all 500 high schools in Ile-de-France.
Indeed: in April 2015, a report from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) already underlined the low distribution rate of the Contraception Pass. The main problems: a lack of information among young people, conditions of use that are too complicated, too few professional partners … But far from recommending their elimination, IGAS rather advocated better communication. Case to follow.
