State of Michigan offers free birth control in November • Michigan Advance

Throughout November, federally qualified health centers across Michigan will offer free, over-the-counter oral birth control pills, condoms, emergency contraception and family planning educational resources, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Wednesday.

Funding for the Take Control of your Birth Control program comes from an allocation of $5.6 million in the state budget to help the state health department expand its program Family planning program.

All Michigan residents should be able to affordably access family planning tools as an essential branch of public health, said Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian in a press release.

“We want to ensure that people who need and want these tools can easily obtain them, and we are committed to helping people take control of their reproductive health in a way that is both empowering and informed is,” Bagdasarian said.

The goal of the program is to invite Michiganders to family planning centers and provide them with free contraceptives and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention materials for the month of November, and then provide appropriate resources and education to those in need of affordable care.

Michigan is working to protect reproductive freedom for all, Whitmer said in a news release, and the Take Control of Your Birth Control program is one area of ​​that work.

“Everyone, no matter how much money they make, deserves to make their own decisions about their own reproductive health and future,” Whitmer said. “By expanding access to important family planning tools, we underscore our commitment to ensuring that Michiganders, along with their families and trusted health care providers, can make their own decisions about their own bodies and their lives.”

Those interested in joining the program to receive free resources can also access information about the application process for Medicaid coverage Plan the first programwhich can cover family planning services such as contraceptives, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment.