How Long Until Birth Control Pills Are Sold Over the Counter?

By Jessica Pieklo

November 20, 2009--The surprise announcement from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists could help bolster efforts by public health officials to make The Pill more widely available.

After almost 50 years, society is having exactly the same argument. Proponents of “over the counter” argue that oral contraceptives are some of the safest and most effective drugs on the market. But political pressure continues to make accessing"The Pill" difficult.

For example, most doctors prescribe The Pill for one year and require women to receive a full pelvic exam before renewing that prescription despite the fact that research has shown annual Pap smears are unnecessary and can lead to false positives and/or expensive follow-up tests.

Insurance companies often dole out The Pill one month at a time, despite the cost savings associated with putting it on shelves.

Eradicating institutional inefficiencies is one motivator behind the announcement. Another is that half the nation’s pregnancies are unintended and cause significant strain on the public health system. “In a country where dependable contraceptive methods are available, unintended pregnancies are still a major public health problem,” Dr. Kavita Nanda, scientist, NC Family Health International, told The Huffington Post.

In order for such a reality to exist, a company would first have to be granted permission by the government (and Gawd almighty herself) and it’s unclear at this time if any are considering it.

Let’s not hold our breath.

And there is the issue of cost. Obamacare requires FDA-approved contraceptives to be available without co-pays for women enrolled in most employer-provided workplace insurance plans. If The Pill were sold without a prescription, it wouldn’t be covered under that provision. ACOG addressed this issue, noting that on average, uninsured women pay $16 per month’s supply.

Now, if we were talking condoms, there would be a condom dispenser in every public toilet; at every news stand; sports stadium; airport; train station; motel room; a dispenser in every church pew; hawked by every street vendor; in every classroom; and wherever else the creative male mind thinks a condom dispenser would be appropriate.
 
This may not be the fight the Obama administration was looking for, but they may end up having it. And making the pill available over the counter and without a prescription may be just the answer to the endless litigation by religious extremists to the contraception mandate.

Yeah, and those religious extremist freaks...they are ever so pious. Gawd bless the religious extremists.

Assuming the cost issue is worked out, can’t think of anything that would both serve critical public health needs and drive the hard right bonkers quite like the pill available right next to the aspirin. Let’s do this!

Nah...they’ll think of something...they always do.
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Jessica Pieklo is a former litigator who now writes and teaches. Her areas of expertise include constitutional law, health law and business law. She teaches a number of law and political science courses for undergraduates and law students in the Minneapolis area and serves on the Board of Directors for Common Cause, Minnesota.

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Editor's Note: 
A sister-in-law and best friend and I were two of the first women to use “The Pill.” We had the s*** scared out of us on a regular basis. We were in our early twenties. She had four little girls, I had two. My pregnancies didn’t go as smoothly as hers. In any event, we were finished building our families. The Pill was the answer to our prayers. And, that is precisely why society in those days was dead set against it! Women were afforded independence and began establishing careers immediately.