Support Increased Access to Health Care for Women
Emergency Contraception Pharmacy AcessSUPPORT HB 1212Bill Summary:
•Authorizes but does not require a pharmacist to prescribe emergency contraception. •Declares this is limited prescriptive authority and does not extend to any other drug.
Facts:
•National medical organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists overwhelmingly support improved access to emergency contraception. •Two scientific panels of experts at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted overwhelmingly to recommend emergency contraception for over-the-counter status. •HB 1212 allows women direct access to emergency contraception through their local pharmacies. Eight States already allow women to access emergency contraception through their pharmacies. •This bill is not a mandate. If a pharmacist is opposed to prescribing emergency contraception, he or she is not required to write a prescription. Background:
•Emergency Contraception is a form of birth control that can prevent pregnancy when taken up to five days after unprotected sex. •THE FIRST 12 HOURS ARE THE MOST CRITICAL – after that time the medication becomes less effective. •Emergency contraception is not an abortion. If a woman is already pregnant, emergency contraception will not affect the developing pregnancy. •Improved access to emergency contraception reduces the need for abortion. Since the initiation of pharmacy-based EC provision, the abortion rate in Washington has dropped by 30%. •Increased access to emergency contraception saves states money. Washington’s EC pharmacy access law saved the state nearly $22 million in Medicaid dollars related to pregnancies and infant care costs. Making pharmacy access to EC available in two pharmacies in Arkansas for 14 months saved the state approximately $340,000 in Medicaid dollars. For questions or information, please call Jessie Danielson, Political Director for NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado at 303-394-1973, ext. 13. Supporting Organizations:
Colroado Pharmacist Society, Colorado Medicl Society, Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Colorado OBGYN Society, Planned Paerenthood of the Rocky Mountains, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado
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