The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) has called for the morning after pill to be made available from the pharmacy top shelf, and without the 'patronising and insulting' consultation.
In a press release, BPAS urged for reclassification of the emergency contraception because the policy on its purchase is 'outdated', as well as calling out pharmaceutical companies for charging a price for the pill women cannot afford.
Chief Executive of BPAS, Ann Furedi said: 'It is utterly stupid that we have made a medication which gives women a second chance of avoiding an unwanted pregnancy so hard to obtain. There is no financial justification for the high price of this pill, nor clinical reason for a consultation before it can be sold. People are trusted to use a wide variety of medications sold on the shelves of pharmacies in a sensible and appropriate way. Emergency contraception should be no different.'
'It's time to ditch what is the ultimate sexist surcharge and put emergency contraception where it belongs - on the shelf, at a price women can afford.'
The most widely used contraceptive pill in the UK, Levonelle, is usually priced between £25 and £30 - a figure that has been criticised for being too high and therefore limiting women from using it when it is really needed. Levonelle states that the price is set as such 'in part, to ensure it is not used as a regular form of contraception.'
BPAS Spokesperson, Katherine O'Brien disagrees with the pricing: 'It’s based on a really weird view of women, a really outdated and patronising view that we can’t be trusted with this medication or we’ll be reckless, it’ll be one-night stands left right and centre. I don’t think that is how women view things.'
Levonelle is currently available free of charge from GP surgeries, however as the pill is more effective the earlier it is taken, many women are forced to buy the pill at pharmacies, following a consultation that is often embarrassing, as GP appointment wait times are too long. Worse still, women sometimes forego taking the morning after pill completely because they simply cannot afford it.
Women in Britain pay significantly more for the morning after pill than anywhere else in Europe, apart from Ireland, with the equivalent in France costing around €7 (£6). According to BPAS, research has found that around one third of British women have had unprotected sex in the last 12 months, and the majority (67%) did not use emergency contraception, with reasons including the price and the feeling of 'judgement' and embarrassment during consultation sessions.
Katherine O'Brien added: 'BPAS regularly sees women experiencing unplanned pregnancy who were deterred from seeking EC because of the obstacles to access, including the price. We are calling for Emergency Contraception to be reclassified as a General Sales List medication so it can be placed on pharmacy selves for women to buy without consultation.'
The call for change comes as Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirms that talks are taking place to explore how women in Northern Ireland can gain access to free abortions through Scotland's NHS hospitals. Currently the NHS refuses to pay for women in Northern Ireland, where abortion is currently illegal except for cases of the pregnancy posing a direct threat to the mother's life, who are travelling to Britain for terminations.
Sturgeon said in a statement: 'We are looking in terms of the process and will discuss with the NHS what would happen now routinely, and whether there are options to change that, to make the process safer for the women concerned.'
She added: 'My view is that if a woman is going to access an abortion then the important thing is that it is as safe as possible.'
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.