Uncontroversial Contraceptives
BY ALICIA YANG
A diverse coalition of actors agree that birth control should be offered over the counter. Most Democrats, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, several anti-abortion Republican Senate nominees, and presumably many women have reached this consensus just a month before midterm elections. This sudden shift has been met with criticism from other Democrats, who actually oppose over-the-counter contraceptives because of their adverse effects on the poor. The dilemma then is whether or not the motives of those who recently switched positions are sincere, and whether sincerity is even relevant.
Republicans up for election—including Cory Gardner, Thom Tillis, and Mike Coffman—may be looking for a simple solution to the convoluted issue of contraceptives brought up in the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby case, in which the rights of corporations, employees, and fertilized eggs intersect and conflict with one another. By supporting over-the-counter birth control, Republicans can conveniently circumvent the issue of whether or not the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can force corporations to cover birth control. This allows conservatives to advocate simultaneously for the religious freedom of closely held corporations and the reproductive rights of women.
The most obvious motive for the softening of the Republicans’ position on birth control is an attempt to revamp their approach to solving their significant reputation problem among female voters. Meanwhile, Democrats have fought back, claiming that this opportunistic attempt to win voters would disproportionately affect poorer women, who would struggle to pay $600 a year for a pill currently covered by the ACA. Although this fee pales in comparison to the astronomical cost of an unintended pregnancy, the expense is a large enough deterrent that many women might not regularly purchase birth control. Planned Parenthood, which has consistently pushed for over-the-counter birth control with continued coverage, describes the Republicans’ change of heart as “a veritable birth control tax on women.” However, over-the-counter birth control would indeed help undocumented women, those who fall in the Medicaid gap, and those unable to reach a doctor easily. More broadly, over-the-counter contraceptive availability would eventually drive down the cost of the pill substantially and reduce the need for time-consuming, wasteful doctor’s visits. From an economic standpoint, the measure could reduce the unintended pregnancy rate, which costs over $10 billion in taxpayer dollars every year.
According to Sara Libby in The Atlantic, this role reversal of political positions “really just amounts to sweating the small stuff.” In other words, does the issue really matter if Republicans and Democrats aren’t diametrically opposed? These issues actually matter to women and aren’t even close to materializing in the near future. Considering no drug company has even submitted an application for the FDA to approve birth control’s over-the-counter status yet, it’s pretty safe to say that, in the short-term, Republicans are relying on birth control as a makeshift talking point to secure female support.
Republican Senate candidate Cory Gardner’s proposition to allow over-the-counter birth control to be purchased “by adults” raises another interesting question: How old do you have to be to purchase contraceptives? Is the age of consent old enough? Making over-the-counter birth control accessible to teenagers, who may not be comfortable talking about these issues with a doctor or parent, would promote contraceptive use within the demographic at the highest risk for unintended pregnancy. If the FDA does approve over-the-counter birth control, Planned Parenthood emphasizes that the ACA’s full coverage should still apply, so as not to compromise the overarching goal of making birth control accessible for everyone, particularly the groups that would benefit the most, such as low-income individuals or young people.
If almost everyone agrees, why isn’t birth control already available over the counter? The United States follows the pattern of wealthier nations such as Japan and Germany, which offer prescription-only birth control, perhaps due to their decreased need in family planning. However, requiring doctor’s visits to prescribe the pill can be historically attributed to the unfounded belief that doctors are better able to guide women toward the right birth control than women themselves.
The shift to over-the-counter birth control access, with continual coverage under the ACA, would send the message that women are capable of making their own health decisions and shouldn’t need the approval of a physician or corporation make reproductive health decisions. Until over-the-counter birth control is approved, women should utilize their lack of control over birth control as leverage in the November midterms, which will hopefully represent the beginning of a major shift in conservative thought on social issues, and not just a pre-election blip.