New laws in California and Oregon will allow women to sidestep the physician's office in obtaining contraceptives.
Both states are extending collaborative practice laws to allow pharmacists to prescribe birth control for women without a physician's prescription, according to The New York Times.
The laws are an effort to make contraceptives like the pill, ring or patch more accessible and potentially less expensive for women, according to the report. The hopes are more accessible birth control will help reign in unplanned pregnancies — which account for about half of the 6.6 million annual pregnancies in the U.S., according to the report.
Similar to the way pharmacists in many states are able to administer vaccines or prescribe certain medications, the Oregon and California laws will allow women to go straight to a pharmacy for birth control prescriptions. The laws will differ slightly. For example, in Oregon, women will need to be 18 years old to access a pharmacy prescription; those who are younger must first go to a physician, according to the report. In California, there will not be an age requirement, but women looking for contraceptives with estrogen will have to take a blood pressure test, according to the report.
Opponents of the law feel it will be detrimental to the push to make birth control an over-the-counter medication and others say the need for contraceptives is a draw to get women into a physician's office for other important screenings, according to the report. However, supporters say over-the-counter medications are not always covered by insurance, which could make the medications out of reach for many women. They also point to research that shows women who have access to contraceptives outside the physician's office still go in for additional testing, according to the report.
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