New York is Handing Out Birth Control Without a Prescription

We recently discussed a pop star named Olivia Rodrigo who was handing out birth control and Plan B abortion pills at one of her concerts. None of the recipients received any sort of medical examination or were given a prescription for the medication. New York Governor Kathy Hochul must have thought that Rodrigo was really onto something because yesterday she announced that her state would be doing the same thing for everyone. As of now, women and girls can walk into any pharmacy in the state and purchase hormonal birth control without having a prescription. Of course, the reasons she offered for making this decision were entirely political, not medical in nature. She cited “reproductive freedom” being “under attack” across the country as her primary motivation. (CBS News)

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday that women can now buy birth control at New York pharmacies without a prescription.

“This is a big moment for the women of New York. Up until now, you can not walk into a pharmacy and be able to purchase contraception to meet your various health care needs,” Hochul said. “Starting today, any woman walking into a New York state pharmacy will be able to purchase birth control, the best birth control method that meets her needs.”

Hochul said this will be especially important in medical deserts and rural areas across the state.

It’s not entirely clear where Kathy Hochul is deriving the authority to do this. It was only last year that the FDA approved the first over-the-counter, non-prescription daily birth control pill. That would be Opill (norgestrel), produced by the pharmaceutical company Perrigo. No other oral, hormonal birth control tablets have been approved for nonprescription distribution and the FDA advises all women to consult with their doctor before beginning such treatments. And yet, with a stroke of her executive pen, Kathy Hochul declared that the rules have changed.

The announcement doesn’t only impact women and girls in New York. Visitors from out of state will be able to travel there and make the same purchases regardless of their home address. This clearly opens the door to “birth control tourism” if such a thing is somehow needed. Of course, that raises a second obvious question. Who is it that’s having trouble getting a prescription for birth control pills? There are doctor’s offices and clinics all over the place where you easily get one unless you have a health condition that would make it dangerous to take such medication. If you can’t afford to see a doctor, there are free clinics (including Planned Parenthood) that will trip over themselves to write you a prescription.

I suppose this situation could be worse. At least the woman visiting the pharmacy should (emphasize the word “should“) need to speak to a pharmacist before being given the supply of pills. That’s not the same as receiving a routine examination and checkup from your physician prior to starting a new medical regimen, but they could at least ask her about some of the common health issues that might make the use of these pills problematic.

It’s those health conditions I mentioned above that make this announcement more worrisome. Did anyone bother to tell Kathy Hochul that there are a number of medical conditions that typically preclude doctors from prescribing hormonal birth control pills? The National Institute of Health (NIH) informs us that women suffering from hypertension, breast cancer, ischemic heart disease, and even some forms of migraines are not supposed to take those pills because of the side effects that may result. How sure is the Governor that every woman and girl in New York (or those from other states who may decide to visit and take advantage of this plan) is up to date on that information?

I suppose none of that matters. There’s an election coming up and Joe Biden has been losing ground with women voters. The Democrats have to make sure that everyone knows they are protecting ladies from the brute instincts of predominantly male mega-MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump who want to lock them up in stirrups and force them to give birth. When elected officials decide to take up their executive pens and begin issuing mandates, science just flies right out the window.