Physicians: Birth Control Should Be Sold Without a Prescription
Physicians: Birth Control Should Be Sold Without a Prescription
CNN) — In the future, women may be able to buy birth control pills alongside ibuprofen and cough drops if the recommendation of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is adopted.
The group is recommending that oral contraceptives be sold over the counter without a prescription in an effort to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in the United States.
Approximately 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, a rate that hasn’t changed much in the past 20 years, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reproductive health research. Women in their 20s are most at risk.
“Access and cost issues are common reasons why women either do not use contraception use or have gaps in use,” according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.