- Women under 25 can now get free birth control in France, France24 reported.
- Health Minister Olivier Veran said the effort was meant to address a decline in birth control use.
- Veran said it was unacceptable that young women were using birth control less because of finances.
Birth control will be free for all women until they're 25 years old in France starting Saturday, France24 reported.
The measure is an expansion of a measure that made birth control free for those under 18.
Health Minister Olivier Veran announced the initiative back in September, NPR reported.
Veran said the measure is meant to address a decline in young women using contraceptives because of financial burdens. He said it would cost the government nearly $25 million (21 million euros).
"It's intolerable that women aren't able to protect themselves, aren't able to use contraception if they make that choice, because it would cost too much," Veran said at the time.
France24 reported that the measure covers birth control pills, IUDs, contraceptive patches, as well as other steroid hormonal methods.
It's unclear if this would also cover trans and nonbinary people, NPR reported.
Insider has reached out to France's Health Ministry for comment.