Jacque Wilson Birth Control

Although selling birth control over the counter has major and long-term benefits, it can also be harmful. Without the need for a prescription, women lose the ability to properly learn how the usage of birth control can affect their body. There are many women that have little to no knowledge when it comes to the side effects of taking birth control and that the side effects vary with every body. For instance, taking birth control can increase the chances of developing blood clots by three to four times. With that being said, there are side effects to just about every

Over the counter birth control pills have been a topic of discussion for many women. Some might say it would pose many risks such as not receiving medical checkups and not knowing the side effects of birth control pills. Others may see it as a helpful to women because of the convenience of accessing the pills and not having to take time to schedule appointments. Additionally, due to health care and insurance policies some women might not have an easy access to birth control pills but the cost should not be a factor. Although over the counter birth control would allow an easier access for women, there are reasons why a doctor’s visit and a prescription are required to receive birth control pills.

The current fight for keeping oral contraceptives as a prescription drug is due to all of the negatives that over the counter oral contraceptives would pose. The debate is not arguing that birth control pills are bad or should be harder to get to but rather the fact that if they were easier to get to that the negatives would outweigh the positive.

The first reason birth control pills should be available without a prescription is that other countries allow women to purchase birth control pills without a prescription. Nations like China, Russia, and Greece have made birth control pills

However, some health insurance policies are not required to cover these services, and women are still paying the cost of birth control. Some insurers are only offering the generic form of the birth control, and some plans are not covering the cost of doctor’s visits. Here is why: Some women may be on a grandfathered plan, which means that they are not required to cover the cost of brand name drugs, but may give the generic version of the pill for free. Another reason why is some people's plans can have a religious exemption. This means if your plan comes from a religious affiliated organization, they are not required under religious exemption to cover the cost. This law caused an immense dispute on whether birth control should be free or not.

Not only for the individuals trying to purchase the pill but also for pharmacists. There is a spillover effect to also consider; how the medication will be sold. Will it be put next to over the counter drugs or condoms? Or would it be sold only behind the counter, meaning the pharmacist still must hand then over even though no do prescription is required? These are questions that need to be considered before making a decision.

Pictured above are different types of birth control available. All, except condoms, require a prescription and are used by women. Photo courtesy of Dawn Stacey

Unintended pregnancies occur in the United States because of lack of accessible prevention methods. To end unwanted pregnancies and abortions, a change needs to occur. Currently, an oral birth control is in deliberation by healthcare professionals to potentially switch availability for women to buy over-the-counter (OTC). Because no prescription would be necessary, this would make obtaining oral contraceptives easier. The drug would be progestin-only, a female hormone otherwise called progesterone, which is not available in the United States in an oral drug formulation. This birth control is objectively safer than common oral birth control pills that are typically estrogen-progestin combinations. Plan B, (levonorgestrel), an oral emergency contraceptive, was recently legalized to purchase OTC without any

Many over the counter medications have side effects as well; people should read the labels on medication before getting them. One big problem to be concerned about is increased “blood clots in some women” (Rettner). Other common side effects are nausea, headaches, weight gain, mood changes, and missed periods. Females that have high blood pressure, breast cancer and have a chance of or are pregnant should not take the drug. All females should still have “conversations with their doctor which birth control” is right for them (Rettner). Women should have access to birth control without a prescription, although there are many side

There are few scientific developments more associated with feminism than that of the development of the birth control pill. While it was certainly not the catalyst for the liberation of all women, it opened up a world of opportunity for many who chose to take it. For my Simmons History Research Project, I chose to look into the availability of contraception at the school. In my initial search, I hoped to find out exactly when and exactly what forms of birth control were made available to students through the school. As my research progressed, I found that while the school is extremely forthcoming about birth control today, it took a very long time for this level of openness to be reached. However, once the school was able to legally able to

The first step is to __D__efine the research question. You can structure or define your question in two ways. In some cases, you can use a __free-form question__ where you are asking a simple question such as, “Is hormonal birth control safe?” However, this question is very open because there are many factors that can factor into the safety of using birth control in a patient such as method, patient age, or health status. A more defined or __structured question__ would be, “What are the risks of stroke in women over 40 at high risk for blood clots taking hormonal birth control compared to the same population using non-hormonal birth control or no birth control?” The second question is a better question because it is measuring the possible

According to the Oxford American College Dictionary, power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. In order to gain the most power humanly possibly you do not have to be remembered, your action needs to be remembered. Power is the ability to help others benefit out of an action. If given the opportunity to go back in time to irrevocably alter the future, I would take the opportunity to invent the birth control pill in advance of time.

The mindset for easier access to birth control is not something new. A 2006 Pharmacy Access Partnership report discovered that 63 percent of women feel that birth control should be available without a prescription.

Birth Control was invented in the 1940s by Gregory Goodwin Pincus. In the 1960s, the pill version was created. The Birth Control pill is defined as “A Contraceptive Pill”. It is proven to be 99.9% effective when taken everyday on a regular schedule. It was nicknamed the “magic pill”. Before the pill, the condom was the most widely used contraceptive . But then the birth control pill came to be more effective and became something everyone started to use more. Sex education seems to be needed to know how to use new things and how to use safety correctly. It actually turns out that sex education is only required in 22 out the 50 states!! Who are you going to ask on how to use a condom? There are so many ways you can mess up using one. ( Breaking,

Raising children in this day and age can become expensive quickly; therefore, methods of birth control can be quite convenient for those not ready to have kids.