Put the morning-after pill on general sale to give British women ‘complete control’, experts say

Women should be given “full control” over their contraceptive needs by being able to buy the morning-after pill in supermarkets and petrol stations in Britain, a coalition of healthcare bodies said.

The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health (FSRH) has said it is “high time” to remove barriers to emergency contraception by reclassifying the morning-after pill to the general sales list – meaning it can be bought in stores .

Emergency contraception is currently only possible after a mandatory consultation with a pharmacist.

The FSRH position is supported by organizations such as the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

Dr. Janet Barter, Chair of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health, said: “Access to contraception is such a basic human right and it is high time we start removing the barriers people face when accessing emergency oral contraception.

“We want to make emergency oral contraception free and easily accessible to everyone who needs it, at a time and place that suits them, whether that’s in a supermarket or at their local sexual health clinic.”

A 2019 report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists previously recommended that the morning-after pill be sold off the shelf alongside pregnancy tests and condoms.

In a statement, the FRSH said it “supports the universal provision across Britain of free, accessible oral emergency contraception without fear of harassment or stigma”.

Barter said: “It is so important that people can take full control of their own contraceptive needs. We believe that the reclassification of oral emergency contraception from a pharmacy drug to a general sales list would be a huge step forward, giving people autonomy and empowering them to make the right decision for themselves.

“The next important step in the process of improving access to oral emergency contraception would be to make it free for all.”

Georgina O’Reilly, deputy director of communications and campaigns at BPAS, said: “Not only is this a safe medicine, and significantly safer than many other products on the shelf, it protects women from pregnancy, a condition that can seriously affect a woman’s physical and mental health – as well as her personal safety.

“It is of course not the same as taking a paracetamol, because the consequences of not taking it are so much greater than a persistent headache. We owe it to women to do everything in our power to get this pill into their hands as soon as possible.”