Photo by brains the head via Flickr
Women in California of any age can now obtain birth control without a doctor's prescription from any pharmacy in the state. Under the new rules finally in effect, any woman merely has to fill out a questionnaire at the pharmacy to get access to a variety of contraceptive measures, according to KABC.
Though the new rules were technically passed by the state legislature in 2013, the law was tied up in regulatory discussions until Friday.
Under the law, any woman can get self-administered hormonal birth control. This translates to birth control pills, patches, and injections, as well as vaginal rings. The rules do not apply to birth control methods that would require a doctor—like implants or IUDs.
Per the L.A. Times, when someone visits the pharmacy to get birth control, a pharmacist will first take her blood pressure, and ask for a questionnaire to ensure hormonal birth control is safe for her.
Then, the patient can either ask for a specific type of birth control, or ask the pharmacist for recommendations. The pharmacist will offer instructions and side-effect information.
Insurance providers who already cover birth control should still cover the costs of contraceptives obtained directly from the pharmacy, though it isn't yet super clear whether or not pharmacies themselves will charge for the brief examination.
Aside from that, the only other thing to know is that some pharmacies might not be immediately set up to make good on the law, but should be very soon. Your best bet is probably just to call your pharmacy and ask.
California is only the third state to allow women to get hormonal birth control directly from a pharmacist, along with Washington and Oregon.
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