Thursday, December 18, 2008

Pill to be given out by chemists

From BBC News:
A pilot scheme allowing pharmacists to give women the contraceptive pill without a prescription has been given the go-ahead for next year.

Women and girls aged over 16 will be able to get the pill at two London primary care trusts, Southwark and Lewisham, Pulse magazine says.

If the pilots are successful, the pill could become available over the counter like the morning after pill.

Officials say this might help reduce the UK's high teen pregnancies.

Although the teenage pregnancy rate in Britain is falling in many areas, it remains the highest in Western Europe.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "We want to improve women's access to contraception and help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies without undermining patient safety. ...more

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