In the last several years, 10 states and the District of Columbia have enacted pharmacy access bills, which allow pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraception directly to women. These efforts expand the scope of practice for pharmacists and increase birth control access—especially for women who may not have a regular physician or cannot afford one.
Relative to other states, Arkansas experiences high rates of unintended pregnancy. In fact, in 2010, the latest year data is available, 55 percent of pregnancies in Arkansas were unintended, whereas 45 percent of pregnancies in the United States overall were unplanned (as of 2011). What’s more, in 2015, Arkansas had the highest rate of teen pregnancy at 38 births per 1,000 adolescents (age 15-19).
These unplanned pregnancies come at a high price for taxpayers. In 2010, the associated publicly funded medical expenses cost over $328 million—$62 million of which the state government shouldered.
Pharmacy access has seen little opposition in the medical community. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) believes that no prescription should be necessary for hormonal contraception like birth control pills. And indeed, pharmacists are already well equipped to provide the services needed to prescribe birth control, which typically consist only of a self-reported questionnaire about health history and a blood pressure test.
Nevertheless, current Arkansas regulations impede a pharmacist’s ability to perform these examinations with no credible rationale for doing so.
