Birth Control
Ensuring women access to birth control is essential to preventing unplanned pregnancy and reducing the need for abortion. Birth control is basic healthcare for many women, and therefore should be widely available and covered by insurance. Studies indicate that 40 million women of reproductive age are sexually active and wish to prevent unintended pregnancy. Nevertheless, the far right continues to block women’s access to contraception. Birth control costs have been rising across the country, leaving college students and low-income women particularly vulnerable to interruption of birth control methods. Additionally, some pharmacists in the U.S., including some in Washington, have refused to dispense safe and legal emergency contraception. Emergency contraception does not require a prescription for women over 18, but some pharmacists are refusing EC to women for personal, non-medical reasons. Electing pro-choice candidates is one way to ensure women's access to birth control. For example, Republican candidate for governor Dino Rossi is opposed to birth control, and favors allowing pharmacists to refuse EC to women. Below, you can read more about NARAL’s work to increase the availability of emergency contraception, protect patients’ rights to have valid prescriptions filled without judgment or discrimination, and ensure family planning services are covered by insurance.
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| Insurance Coverage for Contraception |
| Nearly half of states do not offer insurance coverage for birth control. Laws promoting insurance coverage are crucial to ensuring women ...
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| Pharmacy Refusals |
| At their December 14, 2006 meeting the Washington State Board of Pharmacy voted to move forward with two rules that ...
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| Emergency Contraception |
| NARAL Pro-Choice Washington's Emergency Contraception Access Project recently completed a survey of all Washington pharmacies revealing an alarming lack of Plan B® access in ...
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