Now women in Oregon don’t need a prescription to get their birth control

Oregon pharmacists will now be able to prescribe birth control pills, but some worry that women will be lax in receiving preventative health checks. The bill is among more than 300 passed for the state and puts Oregon ahead of California, which is expected to be the second state to pass the law, according to upi.com. This move will allow pharmacists to make a determination about a woman’s reproductive health.

Women 18 years and older will be able to receive a pharmacist’s birth control pill prescription after filling out a health questionnaire. Pharmacists will make a determination about dispensing the pills and could refuse, for religious reasons, to provide them. However, state law will require that they refer the patient elsewhere.

Pharmacists must attend a mandatory training session before being permitted to write birth control prescriptions. Proponents like Dr. Alison Edelman, see the move as positive but cautions, “just having birth control accessible through a pharmacist doesn’t mean preventative health care isn’t important.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says “cervical cancer is the easiest cancer of the reproductive system that can be prevented by consistent doctor visits.”  It is hopeful that women will keep this in mind and regularly receive health checks from their licensed OB/Gyn, even though a doctor’s approval will no longer be required to receive birth control pills.

The law became effective Jan. 1. Among other laws becoming effective New Year’s day: paid sick leave will be given to workers and the wording on state marriage licenses will changed from “husband and wife” to “spouses in legal marriage.”