Lessons for Legislators: A Guide for Allowing Pharmacist Prescribed Birth Control
Channel: R Street Institute
Date: 2020-11-24

An increasingly bipartisan effort has emerged in Washington to make birth control pills available over the counter, yet federal action to do so has stalled. Taking matters into their own hands, state legislators across the country have championed an innovative, deregulatory approach to birth control access: letting pharmacists directly prescribe hormonal birth control. Over just the last several years, 16 states plus Washington, D.C., have begun to allow pharmacist-prescribed birth control. What’s more, both Republican and Democrat state legislators are often behind these efforts.

As more lawmakers consider making this move, it is crucial to understand why it’s important and how it fits within legislative priorities. Join Wisconsin State Representative Joel Kitchens (R) and R Street’s Courtney Joslin, Resident Fellow in Commercial Freedom, as they discuss the merits of this model, offer insight for state lawmakers, and highlight why more conservatives should embrace this model of access.

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