NARAL Pro-Choice Washington : Issues

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Emergency Contraception Access Project

In April 2007 the Washington State Board of Pharmacy unanimously approved two rules that protect access to valid prescription and behind-the-counter medications without hassle or delay. While the rules cover all prescription and behind-the-counter medications, most opponents to the rules focused on Plan B® emergency contraception.

On the day that the rules were to go into effect, two pharmacists and a pharmacy owner filed a lawsuit to block the rules. Currently, a federal judge has imposed an injunction, thereby allowing pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions and behind-the-counter medications for personal, non-medical reasons. A trial is set for Fall 2008.

The ongoing challenge to the Pharmacy Board rules and concern over the availability of Plan B® led NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Foundation to launch the Emergency Contraception Access Project to better understand how accessible Plan B® is for women across the state.

Please click here for a PDF fact sheet about the project.

Part One – Statewide Pharmacy Survey

After compiling a comprehensive list of all 1,190 pharmacies in the state, we recruited project volunteers to survey these pharmacies by phone. The volunteers successfully surveyed 1,014 of these pharmacies, with the following results:

7.4% of surveyed pharmacies do NOT stock Plan B® emergency contraception.
3% of surveyed pharmacies have a pharmacist on staff that refuses to dispense Plan B® emergency contraception.
That means that more 10% of the pharmacies in the state do not stock or refuse to dispense Plan B®.
Plan B® emergency contraception retails for up to $80 at some Washington pharmacies.
24% of pharmacists surveyed were either unaware or refused to bill Medicaid for Plan B® for eligible HRSA clients.

Part Two – Education

To coincide with the publication of our survey results, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington launched an interactive map which women can use to readily identify the pharmacies at which they can obtain Plan B® emergency contraception without hassle or delay.

Please click here for a map showing the availability of Plan B® in WA.

All findings are based on volunteer surveys and the responses our volunteers got from the pharmacists who participated. Note to pharmacists and pharmacy owners: if you see an error in the map or have changed your store’s policy, please contact us at (206) 624-1990 or info@prochoicewashington.org and we will update our information.

To ensure that low-income women and pharmacists are aware of the full range of payment options regarding Plan B®, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington has produced brochures for both pharmacists and patients outlining the billing and licensing issues surrounding Plan B® and is distributing them to pharmacies and Community Service Offices throughout Washington. Please click here for the patient brochure, and here for the pharmacist’s brochure.