Birth control pills should be easier to get, doctors say, as abortion ruling looms

The American Medical Association says that its physicians and medical students support removing barriers to accessing birth control, including prescriptions for oral contraceptives and age restrictions on who could receive birth control over-the-counter, the organization said in a news release.

The organization is urging the Food and Drug Administration to approve over-the-counter birth control pills, saying that difficulty accessing birth control is one of the main reasons why patients don’t take birth control pills or use them inconsistently.

The AMA’s announcement comes as the country awaits the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to overturn the historic Roe v. Wade ruling. That 1973 decision established that banning abortion violated an American’s constitutional right to privacy. The right to an abortion was protected until “approximately the end of the first trimester” of pregnancy, the court ruled.

On May 2, 2022, Politico reported that the Supreme Court had plans to strike down Roe v. Wade. In a leaked draft majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito said that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start” and that the decision, along with a subsequent 1992 decision, “must be overruled.” The leak sparked immediate national backlash from supporters of abortion access. The court is expected to issue a final decision in June or July 2022.

If the precedent established by Roe v. Wade is overturned, the legality of abortion would be determined by individual states, and 26 states are expected to enforce heightened restrictions or bans on abortions, Healthline reported.

“Providing patients with OTC access to the birth control pill is an easy call from a public health perspective as the health risks of pregnancy vastly outweigh those of oral contraceptive use,” AMA Board Member David H. Aizuss, M.D., said in the release. “Expanding OTC access would make it easier for patients to properly use oral contraceptives, leading to fewer unplanned pregnancies.”

Currently, oral contraceptive pills are only available with a prescription, according to Planned Parenthood. There are no age restrictions on who can take the birth control pill, but access to one type of emergency contraceptive pill, Plan B One-Step, used to be restricted by age.

Previously, people seeking to purchase a Plan B pill had to prove they were at least 17 years old. The Food and Drug Administration dropped the age restriction to 15 years old in 2013 before removing the age limit altogether later that year. However, other emergency contraceptive pills are still restricted by age, NPR reported.

And other emergency contraceptive pills may require a prescription. According to Planned Parenthood, Ella is the most effective emergency contraceptive pill, especially for individuals who weigh over 155 pounds. However, it’s only available with a prescription from a doctor, pharmacist or health center, the organization said.

This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Birth control pills should be easier to get, doctors say, as abortion ruling looms."