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LA PRESSE

How The Pandemic Is Changing Birth Control Choices

Birth control is again on people’s minds
Birth control is again on people’s minds
Anne Sophie Goninet

As the pandemic's first wave of lockdowns began, there was plenty of chatter about how it would affect couples, relationships and sex — and consequently what it would mean for contraception. Earlier this year, the UN warned in a report that more than 47 million women in 114 countries could lose access to contraception if health services continue to be heavily disrupted.

As many now brace for COVID-19's second wave, and renewed restrictions, birth control is again on people's minds. A recent report in Canada found that the health crisis has prompted many to reassess their main method of contraception.

Not the best time to be pregnant: According to the report from polling company Léger published by La Presse, around 42% of Canadian women indicated that they were considering or planning to change their main method of contraception and more than half also say they plan to ask their doctors to reconsider their main method of contraception in case of a second wave of cases.

• The main reason: women want to make sure that they have the best contraceptive method possible: 3/4 of the women who took part in the survey felt it was important to avoid unwanted pregnancy during the pandemic because of the uncertainty and instability it has generated.

• This is also true in the United States, where a study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute revealed that 49% of women surveyed had changed their plans about when to have children or how many children to have.

• The increased difficulty or inability to see a doctor in person is also an additional worry for women.

Choosing the best method: The Léger report also reveals that more than 3/4 of participants who used a contraceptive in the last six months have chosen the pill — a method which requires greater regular discipline to be effective, according to a nurse practitioner.

• "All our habits have been modified, the pandemic has changed people's routines … For example, women who stay at home all day with their children teleworking, it changes their daily life, and they risk forgetting their pill more often", Julie Poirier told La Presse.

• The Guttmacher Institute study found that 23% of women reported thinking about getting a longer-acting contraceptive method such as an IUD or an implant.

• Anna, a 24-year-old American, told online magazineBustle that she switched from the pill that she'd been taking for nearly a decade to an IUD to get her birth control "all lined up" and feel more secure for a few years.

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eyes on the U.S.

The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

The U.S. legal system cannot simply run its course in a vacuum. Presidential politics, and democracy itself, are at stake in the coming weeks and months.

The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

File photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Clyde, Ohio, in 2020.

Emma Shortis*

-Analysis-

Events often seem inevitable in hindsight. The indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on criminal charges has been a possibility since the start of his presidency – arguably, since close to the beginning of his career in New York real estate.

But until now, the potential consequences of such a cataclysmic development in American politics have been purely theoretical.

Today, after much build-up in the media, The New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Trump and the Manhattan district attorney will now likely attempt to negotiate Trump’s surrender.

The indictment stems from a criminal investigation by the district attorney’s office into “hush money” payments made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels (through Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen), and whether they contravened electoral laws.

Trump also faces a swathe of other criminal investigations and civil suits, some of which may also result in state or federal charges. As he pursues another run for the presidency, Trump could simultaneously be dealing with multiple criminal cases and all the court appearances and frenzied media attention that will come with that.

These investigations and possible charges won’t prevent Trump from running or even serving as president again (though, as with everything in the U.S. legal system, it’s complicated).

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