The UK is initiating a pilot program (to begin next year) that will allow for pharmacists to dispense birth control pills without a prescription. Females will be able to have a free consultation with a pharmacist to determine if any health risks are present. The pill will be available over the counter to girls under the age of 16 without the need for parental consent.The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) explains that pharmacists already have the necessary skills to distribute contraception (including oral contraceptives), and the RPS has backed trials to determine the effectiveness of contraception being given by pharmacists. Even so, the UK has also announced that its government would ensure appropriate training so that pharmacists distribute contraception correctly and according to prescribed standards.
The Royal Society of Medicine believes that this change will help to address the high rate of teenage pregnancy. In fact, according to the UK Times, the UK has the highest teenage birth rate in Western Europe - figures from the Office for National Statistics show that during 2005, in England, 7,462 girls under-16 became pregnant, and the total number of females under the age of 18 who experienced an unintended pregnancy was 39,683. In comparison, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2006, 6,297 girls under the age of 15 became pregnant in the United States, and the total number of females under-18 who became pregnant was 19,015.
Photo © 2007 Dawn Stacey licensed to About.com, Inc.