July, 26 2011, 11:43am EDT
Planned Parenthood Applauds Sen. Lautenberg and Rep. Maloney for Introducing Access to Birth Control Act
Planned Parenthood applauds Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) for 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.
WASHINGTON
Planned Parenthood applauds Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) for 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.
"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," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "We applaud Senator Lautenberg and Representative Maloney for introducing this commonsense bill to help ensure women have access to birth control."
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 pharmacies help a woman to obtain medication without delay by the method of her preference - order, referral, or a transferred prescription - 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 proper balance between the rights of individual pharmacists who might have personal objections to contraception and the rights of women to receive their medication
Every effort should be made to increase access to birth control and help reduce unintended pregnancies in the United States. The unintended pregnancy rate in the United States ranks among the highest among the world's most developed countries. In addition, unintended pregnancy costs taxpayers $11 billion a year, according to a recent study from the Guttmacher Institute. Most importantly, birth control allows women to plan and space their pregnancies, thus improving maternal, infant, and family health.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is many things to many people. We are a trusted health care provider, an informed educator, a passionate advocate, and a global partner helping similar organizations around the world. Planned Parenthood delivers vital health care services, sex education, and sexual health information to millions of women, men, and young people.
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