Geneva vote fuels push for free contraception across Switzerland

Geneva voters have approved free contraception with no age limit, prompting supporters to push for a nationwide scheme, SRF reports. The proposal won 58 percent support in Sunday’s vote.

The Geneva initiative goes further than a measure recently approved in Neuchâtel, which would limit free contraception to people under 30. The Geneva proposal, put forward by the Social Democratic Party, aims to ensure equal access for everyone.

Geneva University Hospitals’ sexual health department says some people go without contraception because they cannot afford it. Others cross the border into France to buy contraceptives at prices up to ten times lower.

Geneviève Preti, a sexual health specialist at the hospitals, said free contraception would expand access and could reduce the number of abortions. Cutting abortions was one of the initiative’s goals. Geneva currently has one of the highest abortion rates among Switzerland’s cantons.

The scheme is due to begin in 2028. The cantonal government must now present an implementation plan to parliament, including whether contraceptives will be free at pharmacies or reimbursed later, and how to prevent people from the canton of Vaud or nearby France from claiming the benefit.

The proposal covers all effective contraceptive methods, including the pill, condoms, IUDs and implants. The future scheme is estimated to cost 20 million Swiss francs a year.

Bernese National Councillor Tamara Funiciello told Swiss French-language broadcaster RTS that she plans to submit a motion calling for free contraception across Switzerland. She said a national scheme made sense, but did not specify how it would be funded. Previous efforts to cover contraception through health insurance had failed, she said.