S 1555 & HR 2596
Summary: In reaction to some pharmacies unwilling to sell contraception, this legislation will guarantee a women's right to purchase birth control, including over-the-counter emergency contraception. The ABC Act would make it illegal for a pharmacy to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions and require pharmacies to help, not hinder a woman's ability to access contraception.
What You Should Know:
Pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for contraceptives, including emergency contraceptives, have denied women access to birth control in several different states. Since the Food and Drug Administration approved emergency contraception without a prescription for individuals 18 and over, reports of refusals to provide this drug has also been reported. Contraception is basic health care for women, and pharmacists should not have the ability to block access. Access to contraception helps women prevent unintended pregnancy and control the timing and spacing of planned births.
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included family planning in its published list of the Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century , the United States still has one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancies among industrialized nations. Each year, 3,000,000 pregnancies, nearly half of all pregnancies, in the United States are unintended, and nearly half of unintended pregnancies end in abortion.
Primary Sponsor(s): Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Introduction date: 6/6/2007 in both Houses.
Last Major Action:
Senate: Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
House: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
