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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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Brazil to Subsidize Birth Control

Cheaper pills give poor women same right to family planning, says president

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(Newser) – Just weeks after Pope Benedict XVI decried contraception as a threat to the future of Latin America on his visit to Brazil, Brazil's president announced that the government would subsidize birth control pills at private pharmacies so poor women can have "the same right that the wealthy have to plan the number of children they want."

Brazil already hands out free contraceptives at state-run pharmacies. President Luiz Silva aims to extend the largess to those who don't use free pharmacies, cutting the cost of the pill to the equivalent of 20 cents for a month's supply. Women's rights activists are cautiously optimistic. Most abortions are illegal in Brazil.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates mass in Aparecida.
Pope Benedict XVI celebrates mass in Aparecida.   (Associated Press)
Brazil's Vice President Jose Alencar, right, greets Pope Benedict XVI at the air base in Sao Paulo.
Brazil's Vice President Jose Alencar, right, greets Pope Benedict XVI at the air base in Sao Paulo.   (Associated Press)
A vendor works at a government run pharmacy that distributes free condoms and birth control pills in Sao Paulo.
A vendor works at a government run pharmacy that distributes free condoms and birth control pills in Sao Paulo.   (Associated Press)
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