Women 18 and older in Oregon can now buy birth control pills directly from pharmacists without a doctor’s prescription – and the same will be true in California starting in March, according to Newsweek.
The increased access to hormonal birth control, which includes pills and patches, became effective in Oregon on Jan. 1. Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill making the change in July 2015.
Before they may consult with women who seek hormonal contraceptives, Oregon’s pharmacists must complete a training program. In addition, those pharmacists that do prescribe birth control must ensure the woman has a primary care physician.
Women under 18 will still need a doctor’s prescription, although that requirement will be eliminated in the future, Fortune said. It did note that those pharmacists whose religious beliefs oppose contraception can decline a woman’s request – so long as they refer her to another pharmacist.
One feared drawback of the new law is that women will forgo regular preventative care, according to KOIN 6.
“Just having birth control accessible through a pharmacist doesn’t mean preventative healthcare isn’t important. That’s not what this law is saying,” said Dr. Alison Edelman of Oregon Health & Sciences University. “It’s still incredibly important to get preventative healthcare, even if you’re getting your medications and birth control directly from a pharmacist.”
Women still need to regularly visit doctors for pap tests, breast screenings, blood pressure screenings and pregnancy planning, Edelman said.
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California follows
California’s law actually is older than Oregon’s, having been signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013. The state has since been developing pharmacist protocols. For example, would-be customers in California must have their blood pressure taken and must fill out a health questionnaire before obtaining a prescription.
Aside from hormonal birth controls, California pharmacists will be allowed to prescribe nicotine patches, and some prophylactic medications for travel aboard. They also will have authority to order tests for evaluating how effective and potentially toxic some medicines may be.
Legislation elsewhere
The Oregon and California legislation goes against the grain in much of the nation, as both federal and state politicians are attempting to restrict access to contraception. A measure to federally defund Planned Parenthood was narrowly defeated in the Senate, and efforts are underway to potentially revamp an Affordable Care Act mandate that calls for health insurers to cover the cost of contraceptives.
That said, some recent research suggests “that women are more likely to use birth control and less likely to have unintended pregnancies when barriers are lifted in contraceptive access,” according to Newsweek.
A 2015 study published by Contraception noted that 21% of low-income women at risk for unplanned pregnancy would be more likely to use oral contraceptives if they can obtain them without a prescription. That could produce a 7-25% decline in unintended pregnancies.
The next states to allow over-the-counter birth control pills could be Colorado and Washington, Forbes said. Lawmakers in both states have introduced similar legislation.
