IPFS News Link • General Opinion
Opinion: Birth control should be available over the counter. How Congress can make that happen
• https://www.latimes.com By MICHAEL F. CANNONCongress should make this move without requiring insurers to cover over-the-counter contraceptives, which would cause prices to increase.
Daily-use oral contraceptives offer tremendous benefits and are no more dangerous than countless other drugs, such as acetaminophen, which the FDA allows even children to buy over the counter. Many in Congress, from progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to conservative Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), support making "the pill" available without a prescription.
While women in a majority of countries can purchase birth control without a prescription, neither party's leading reform bill would give American women that ability.
The current prescription requirement is a significant impediment to reproductive freedom. Nearly a third of women report difficulty obtaining prescriptions.