Should the pill be sold without a prescription?

[Spicy Camel]

In most countries, one needs a prescription in order to purchase oral contraceptives. This is problematic because it makes access to the pill difficult and it is terribly expensive without insurance. A CNN article states, "Approximately 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, a rate that hasn't changed much in the past 20 years, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reproductive health research." Some doctors debate that allowing the pill to be sold over the counter will reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, others argue that the dangers of life threatening blood clots caused from oral contraceptives outweighs the pros of the pill being more accessible.

So, what do you think? Should the pill be sold over-the-counter? Or should it still be available only with a prescription?  

[Irako of the Desert]

It depends on the dangers of overdose and long-term health effects of using the pill incorrectly, in my opinion. I don't know that much about it, really.

If the pill is dangerous to a person's health without proper doctor supervision, then no, it shouldn't become available over the counter.

If the pill is not dangerous, and the regulations concerning it are serving anti-abortion interests rather than responsible, safe-sex interests, then it should become available over the counter, under the condition that it's available only to people 18 and over and schools have better sex education programs that teach more than just abstinence.  

[Spicy Camel]

Irako of the Desert

It depends on the dangers of overdose and long-term health effects of using the pill incorrectly, in my opinion. I don't know that much about it, really.

If the pill is dangerous to a person's health without proper doctor supervision, then no, it shouldn't become available over the counter.

If the pill is not dangerous, and the regulations concerning it are serving anti-abortion interests rather than responsible, safe-sex interests, then it should become available over the counter, under the condition that it's available only to people 18 and over and schools have better sex education programs that teach more than just abstinence.

I think that it's difficult to overdoes on the pill, but it's possible that women who do not follow instructions carefully might use it incorrectly (such as not waiting at least a week for the body to adjust to the hormonal change before having unprotected sex) and that will result in pregnancy or worse case death. Smoking and taking the pill is pretty much suicidal.

I'm not sure if selling it to people 18 and over is reasonable because other methods of birth control are not sold age-restricted. I'm not sure about how it's possible to have better sex education programs either. I think that sex at a young age might just be a result of kids being bored and curious. Perhaps there needs to be a different program implemented at school that makes education more interesting?  

[[ Hoodie ]]

Personally, I think the pill should NOT be sold over the counter. There is a reason as to why you have to go in to the doctors in order to get the prescription and that is getting a yearly pelvic exam. Which is in order to make sure if all your bits n pieces are operating correctly. And if a certain dosage of hormone's are correct for you and your body chemistry. Since there are DIFFERENT dosages for birth control pills, injections and patches. If the pill was sold over the counter, then the majority of women would never go in to get an pelvic exam which is quite needed to catch things women may be unaware of such as cancer or STDs.



People, regardless of age, are always going to have sex or sexual encounters. Whether or not they are educated on the subject manner.



Also, I have been taking the pill since I was 16 (now 23) and smoking (though I do not suggest it for any one) And I haven't died yet <--- it isn't suicidal to smoke and take the pill simultaneously however it increases the chances for heart disease.  

[elyzia]

Spicy Camel

In most countries, one needs a prescription in order to purchase oral contraceptives. This is problematic because it makes access to the pill difficult and it is terribly expensive without insurance. A CNN article states, "Approximately 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, a rate that hasn't changed much in the past 20 years, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reproductive health research." Some doctors debate that allowing the pill to be sold over the counter will reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, others argue that the dangers of life threatening blood clots caused from oral contraceptives outweighs the pros of the pill being more accessible.

So, what do you think? Should the pill be sold over-the-counter? Or should it still be available only with a prescription?

If it were, I wouldn't have any problem with it. That said, however, I think it shouldn't be sold over the counter.

Medications that have to be taken on a daily basis over an extended period of time in order to work are never sold over the counter, & there's of course a reason for that (probably many other reasons that I'm not aware of as well). The pill is not a controlled substance [controlled substances are medications like Xanax that one could overdose on &/or that people have been known to abuse recreationally], & even compared to many other prescription drugs that aren't controlled substances such as Antidepressants the possible side effects that one could experience are relatively mild & infrequent. However, I feel it's just common sense that regular doctor visits be required for everybody who takes any medication every day. Besides, it's not as if it's very hard to get prescribed birth control pills. & doctors will always give you a minimum of three refills, meaning that you only have to get a new prescription from a doctor a couple times a year. Most months, all you have to do is visit the pharmacy & ask for a refill, which isn't really so different from buying pills over the counter.  

[elyzia]

Spicy Camel

moking and taking the pill is pretty much suicidal.

That's not true at all. Perhaps it was true 10 or 15 years ago, but not anymore.  

[systematic_individual]

I don't think that birth control should be over-the-counter. I have been on birth control for about 6 years. In that time I have been on at least three different kinds because the others did not mesh with me.
It is important to continually monitor your birth control because everyone's body reacts differently and needs a different dosage.

As Hoodie said it is really important to get your exam once a year to make sure the rest of your health is up to date.

If money is an issue a lot of community health centers will do an exam on a sliding scale/free in order to make sure that people are having sex with some sort of birth control plan.