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East County News Service
April 5, 2016 (Sacramento) -- At a time when many states are eroding reproductive rights for women, California just increased it.
A new law that took effect the 1st of this month gives California women the right to obtain birth control without a doctor’s prescription.
The law was approved by voters via a ballot initiative. It does require that a woman visit a pharmacist and fill out a screening form to make sure they don’t have a medical issue that could make a doctor’s visit necessary. Pharmacists can now provide birth control pills, patches and certain other forms of birth control. There is no age limit, so the measure gives access to teenagers as well as adults.
Supporters say the new law will reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and result in a decrease in abortions by making more accessible, convenient and affordable.
The president of the California Pharmacists Association, Sarah McBane, who is also a professor at the University of California San Diego, told the Los Angeles Times, “The easier it is for someone to access medication, the more likely they are to use it.
Opponents object to providing teens easier access to birth control without parental consent. Some have also voiced concerns that if women are not visiting doctors for checkups, sexually transmitted diseases might not be diagnosed.
The law does not guarantee access at all pharmacies, however, since pharmacies are allowed—but not required—to dispense birth control.
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