Thousands of Montana college women and low-income women are drastically affected by the soaring cost of birth control, which has risen in many cases 900 percent this year due to a mistake Congress made last year.

Reports from the University of Montana estimate that birth control prices will increase from $20 to $50 beginning spring semester.

For a college student who has to think twice about paying more than $5 for a meal, or a low-income mother who has to choose between buying groceries and buying gas, the difficulties of living on a limited budget are painfully real. This year, an additional and unexpected expense has been added to many women's budgets -- the higher price of birth control.

For nearly 30 years, federal laws have been in place to help safety-net providers buy birth control at affordable prices, then pass on their savings to needy women and couples. But last year, Congress changed this long-standing law -- putting affordable contraception out of reach for potentially hundreds of thousands of women.

The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), passed by Congress and signed into law on Feb. 8, 2006, includes a provision that adversely affects the ability of university health centers and safety-net family-planning providers, including many Planned Parenthood health centers, to purchase contraceptives at a discounted or nominal price. The provision went into effect on Jan. 1, 2007, and is having a devastating fiscal impact on college students and low-income women around the country. This will affect all UM and MSU students and approximately 4,000 low-income Planned Parenthood of Montana patients -- and the consequences will be devastating.

On college campuses, including the University of Montana, many students will see their birth control costs increase drastically --- making it unaffordable for many. Some institutions, like Bowdoin College in Maine, have stopped offering oral contraceptives altogether --- could that happen here?

More alarming, since the price change, many pharmacies are seeing an increase in demand for the over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pill, Plan B -- implying that some women are responding by forgoing birth control until after sexual intercourse. One thing's certain: Without affordable birth control, the rate of unintended pregnancies will increase and our successful efforts to reduce the rate of abortion in Montana will falter.

It's a simple problem for Congress to fix -- it will cost the government nothing and can be done immediately. We ask Montanans to get involved and urge Congress to address this issue immediately -- before it is too late for even one young woman. Log on to www.montanaforbirthcontrol.com for more information.

Stacey Anderson is director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Montana.