Amsterdam
The Netherlands has ended its decades-long policy of providing women with free birth control. The change was greeted with alarm by some health advocates, who warned about a possible increase in unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Contraception “used to be easily available to rich and poor,” Annet Jansen of Amsterdam’s Center for Sexual Health told the BBC. “We are on the wrong path.” The law ending free contraception was recently enacted by the center-right government, which cited the high cost of the subsidy. The abortion rate in the Netherlands is 8.7 per 1,000 women, compared with 21.3 per 1,000 women in the U.S.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘The worry is far from fanciful’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are Americans bracing for the end of SNAP?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Millions depend on supplemental federal food funds that are set to expire this month, as the government shutdown begins to be acutely felt
-
Book review: ‘Joyride: A Memoir’Feature A journalist’s story of how she chased and accomplished her dreams
