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Over the Counter Birth Control Pills! Finally!

Birth control pills are one of the most reliable, widely tested forms of contraception⁠ (and medications, period⁠ !) out⁠ there, and they are now available over the counter in the United States without a prescription!

As reproductive rights⁠ come under more and more fire here in the United States, I think it's both really exciting and encouraging to see this step towards liberation in the form of an accessible, easy to use, and effective medicine.

Previously, the combination birth control⁠ pill was only accessible through a prescription, making it hard for people to get it who lack things like health insurance or reliable access to a doctor. For a time in our history, birth control was only accessible to married couples, something that was later overturned by Eisenstadt vs. Baird in 1972. But even after that, the cost of contraceptives alone created a barrier for many people. Beyond price, effective contraceptives have been hard  to access for numerous other reasons: judgmental doctors and medical gaslighting⁠ , lack of access to health insurance and general healthcare, and more. The hoops that you previously needed to jump through to get access to methods of birth control like the pill⁠ presented a unique issue for young people in particular, many of whom would need to receive help or permission from their guardians to procure it.

Over the counter birth control options allow people who can't afford to see or reach a doctor for a prescription to still have access to healthcare and the ability to control their own reproduction and family size. This also makes it so people living in situations where birth control may not be permissible are more able to get it on their own. Unfortunately, it isn't uncommon for people to be forced into having kids or prevented from using contraception by abusive partners or guardians. Many people still believe that birth control methods are inherently an indication of sexual⁠ activity, resulting in people (especially teenagers) being barred from using them in the name of abstinence⁠ . Similar issues arise in some deeply religious communities, which restrict the use of birth control methods in the name of their beliefs.

Besides cutting the cost of getting into the doctor in the first place, brands of over the counter birth control cut costs overall. Twenty-eight pills of OTC BCPs can cost as little as fifteen dollars for the same quality as a pack that costs $50. This is important because this allows getting on the pill to be a much less expensive affair: less expensive means more widely accessible.

You’ll notice I talked about birth control as healthcare.  That’s because for many people, it is. There are a lot of common misconceptions about hormonal methods of birth control, and the idea that they’re only use is as a means for preventing pregnancy⁠ . While many people use the birth control pill to prevent unwanted pregnancy, there are many other reasons someone may want to get on the pill. Hormonal methods of birth control can help with countless things besides pregnancy, things like ovarian cysts, severe menstrual⁠ pain, very heavy flow and more. Over the counter birth control makes it so there are less hoops people need to jump through in order to get birth control which allows people in these situations to take control of their healthcare.           

It's necessary to talk about birth control pills outside of a contraceptive context, but it's equally important to acknowledge that their use as a contraceptive is their most common purpose, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's this common idea that things that are explicitly sexual need to justify or explain themselves in some way, that they must have some other reason for existing beyond just allowing people to live the sexual lives that they want to; but this just isn't true. Birth control pills are a contraceptive and there is nothing wrong with using them as such. In a society where births are still being forced and people with uteruses are being actively stripped of their autonomy⁠ more and more frequently, that intended purpose is vital.

For many people, contraceptives are crucial to their livelihood. The idea that everyone can support an unplanned child is an extremely privileged conception⁠ that could not be further from the truth. In all actuality, being financially stable enough to be able to accept an unanticipated child is an incredible privilege. For example, people living in rural communities with little to no access to healthcare and financial aid are going to have a significantly harder time sustaining a child than a wealthy person living in a city with access to community and healthcare.

Birth control can be a taboo thing. Whether it be people in people's lives barring them from getting the healthcare they need, or the price of a prescription medication, or just a lack of time; having an accessible and over the counter option for birth control pills is a big step towards autonomy. As a teenager who has encountered plenty of teenagers who are confused, scared, or otherwise troubled over pregnancy I couldn't be happier about over the counter access to birth control pills. It's private, it's accessible, and it's reliable. It's all the things people, especially younger people, need. It's all the things healthcare should be. 

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