An op-ed in today’s New York Times argues, “Women don’t need a doctor to tell them if they need cold medicine or condoms, and they shouldn’t need a doctor’s permission to take the pill.” Is that true?
Why not make the pill over the counter? Right now, its prescription is usually bundled with other women’s health services like getting regular pap smears — which some see as paternalistic and adding an additional hassle to the process. Some doctors also argue that they need to assess women’s particular health risks against potential side affects of the pill. But, argues Kelly Blanchard,
These are not complicated conditions to identify; women already have to tell their doctor about their health problems when they get a prescription, and research shows that women can screen themselves for contraindications almost as well as providers do.
Perhaps surprisingly, the pill is available over the counter in Kuwait and Mexico, and some American women have been known to cross the U.S.-Mexican border to obtain it without a prescription.
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