Of Course Birth Control Pills Should Be Sold Over the Counter

Of Course Birth Control Pills Should Be Sold Over the Counter

With Mitt Romney’s flippant comment last week about defunding Planned Parenthood to cut the deficit ("Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that") and the reluctance of religious institutions and hospitals to cover the cost of contraceptive services, the time is ripe for women to make it as easy as possible to get oral contraceptives themselves. The obvious solution is to make the Pill available over the counter. But isn’t that dangerous? Don’t certain oral contraceptives interact in scary ways with other common medications, such as antibiotics? And don’t we need a doctor to help us navigate this complicated maze of information?