WASHINGTON — Planned Parenthood Federation of America applauds Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) for re-introducing the Access to Birth Control (ABC) Act. This important legislation protects women’s access to basic, preventive health care and ensures that women will not be denied birth control or emergency contraception at the pharmacy counter.

“We applaud Senator Lautenberg and Representative Maloney for re-introducing this commonsense bill to help ensure women have access to birth control,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

“Birth control is basic health care for women. Women should be able to walk into any pharmacy, anywhere in the country, and get birth control, including emergency contraception, without discrimination or delay.”

Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the results of the agency’s first publication ever on the use of emergency contraception in the United States, which shows that the usage is on the rise and that repeated use of emergency contraception is extremely low. A second study tracked trends in birth control use from 1982 to 2010 and reinforces that almost all women (99 percent) have used contraception at some point in their lives, regardless of their background or religious affiliation. The study also shows that the use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) is increasing.

The Access to Birth Control Act (ABC) Act:

· requires pharmacies to fill birth control prescriptions and provide access to over-the-counter contraceptives in a timely manner

· requires that pharmacies help a woman to obtain her birth control without delay —through order, referral, transfer — if the requested product is not in stock but the pharmacy stocks other forms of contraception

· protects women from being intimidated, threatened, or harassed for requesting contraception

· strikes a balance between the rights of individual pharmacists who might have personal objections to contraception and the rights of women to receive their medication

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Published: 02.15.13

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Planned Parenthood Federation of America Applauds Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Maloney (D-NY) for Commonsense Bill to Help Ensure Women Have Access to Birth Control