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 Birth Control Access Growing Problem

In Montana, there is a growing problem of birth control access. In January, a Broadus pharmacist, the only pharmacist within 75 miles, began refusing to fill patient’s legal prescriptions for birth control based on his personal beliefs. This situation highlights the need for a pharmacy rule or a state statute to protect the healthcare needs of Montana women. According to Montana Code [MCA 37-7-102], the practice of pharmacy is a professional practice affecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public and is subject to regulation and control in the public interest. To that end, Planned Parenthood of Montana is working with other healthcare and service providers to not only protect patients, but also to guarantee non-discriminatory practices and access to Montana pharmacies.

The bottom-line is this:  with over 90,000 Montana women in need of birth control, widespread pharmacy access ensures that women are able to make the healthcare decisions that are best for them and their families. The Supreme Court ruled 43 years ago in Griswold v. Connecticut that women should have the ability to plan healthy families through guaranteed access to birth control. It’s basic healthcare and should be easily accessible to all women in Montana, not just those who have the “luxury” of living in a community with two pharmacies.

At Planned Parenthood of Montana we believe that the ability to decide if and when to have children is a basic human right—a right that individual pharmacists should not be allowed to infringe upon.

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