The Canadian Paediatric Society is recommending that everyone under 25 should get confidential access to free birth control.
A statement released by the society says access to contraception is a basic human right.
It also states that the direct costs of unintended youth pregnancies probably exceed $125 million a year.
They say contraception should be funded through provincial, territorial and federal health plans, and that private insurers should cover the full cost of birth control.
The society’s paper does not set out a minimum age for access to contraceptives, but the organization’s “mature minor doctrine,” which refers to rules about treating adolescents who understand the consequences of medical care and can legally consent to it.
