Should birth control pills be sold without a prescription?

[Something Amyss]

Sarcasm aside, they're not like aspirin, but mainly because aspirin is much more potentially dangerous. Also, I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure emergency contraceptive ("morning after") pills are already available OTC. Primary OC pills aren't.

Emergency contraception can be purchased "OTC" without a prescription.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Sarcasm aside, they're not like aspirin, but mainly because aspirin is much more potentially dangerous. Also, I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure emergency contraceptive ("morning after") pills are already available OTC. Primary OC pills aren't.

Emergency contraception can be purchased "OTC" without a prescription.

A few years ago, they changed it recently, you needed a prescription here to get it. A friend of mine needed to take it when she was 16 and the person she was on the phone to noted that she'd already taken it once before and basically called her a slut until she hung up the phone. She ended up just risking it because she didn't want to go through that again. It was ridiculous.

 

[Something Amyss]

A few years ago, they changed it recently, you needed a prescription here to get it. A friend of mine needed to take it when she was 16 and the person she was on the phone to noted that she'd already taken it once before and basically called her a slut until she hung up the phone. She ended up just risking it because she didn't want to go through that again. It was ridiculous.

They can refuse to sell it to you, but it's available without prescription. You're not talking about something that's changed.

Except now they're trying to pass conscience clauses that will protect a pharmacist's job for refusing to sell it. Except that goes even further, because they want to be able to not fill a doctor's prescription for bc/ec.

Rachel Maddow uses the Amish bus driver analogy for this:


But I digress.

Thing is, you can still walk into a pharmacy and ask for it. It's not truly OTC, but it is available for non-prescription purpose.

The other thing is, birth control and ec are serious business. Even progestin versions of the morning after pill can have deleterious effects on the body if used multiple times in a short period (no pun intended), even if progestin is safer than estrogen. I saw you make mention of your friend using it multiple times and possible OD effect previously, and the thing is, it really is still potentially dangerous, and not in just the "anything is dangerous if overdosed." It can screw with your body chemistry, your blood pressure and specifically your heart. Estrogen is worse.

This is why I really support the prescription model for birth control, though I don't support the "morality clause."

And hell, this is against my own interests. I'm a transsexual. I'd love to self-medicate and not have to worry about the morality of the doctors in this town. It's also not smart.

 

[Apollo45]

Is there really a good reason that regular birth control pills aren't just sold over the counter? Sure I know that some birth control pills are different than others, and that some types might need to remain only available via prescription, but honestly couldn't some types just be available over-the-counter? I know they could be damaging taken incorrectly for some people, but honestly there are lots of drugs like that that are sold on shelves.

Yes, there is a really good reason that they're prescription pills. Birth control pills, as awesome as they are, mess with your hormones. A lot. My fiance just recently got a blood blot in her lung directly caused by birth control, and she was on the lightest dose of a typically very safe pill. At least two of her friends have gone through the same thing. Others have different reactions to them, from severe depression to mood swings. It's a serious medication that can have some huge effects on both the emotional and physical well-being of those who are taking it.