Maryland Senate Defeats Bill That Would Have Allowed Emergency Contraception To Be Sold Without Doctor's Prescription

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 29 Mar 2005 - 22:00 PDT


The Maryland Senate on Thursday defeated 25-21 a bill... (SB 541) that would have allowed certain pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception to patients without a doctor's prescription, the Baltimore Sun reports (Reddy, Baltimore Sun, 3/25). The measure would have created a program within the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene to certify pharmacists to dispense EC, which can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse. Pharmacists' participation in the program would have been voluntary. State Sen. Sharon Grosfeld (D), the bill's lead sponsor, had said that the measure would help to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions in the state, according to the Washington Times (Miller, Washington Times, 3/25). However, bill opponents said the measure was unnecessary because some Internet sites and 24-hour hotlines have doctors on call to write prescriptions for EC in cases when a woman's regular doctor is unavailable (Wagner, Washington Post, 3/25). This was the third year in which such a measure was proposed in the state General Assembly. Supporters of the bill believed they had enough votes to pass the legislation this session, but several state senators who support abortion rights decided to vote against the measure, saying that they were concerned that allowing pharmacists to dispense EC could lead to minor girls accessing the pills without a doctor's supervision, according to the AP/Hagerstown Herald-Mail (AP/Hagerstown Herald-Mail, 3/25). Currently, Alaska, California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington state have laws that allow EC to be sold without a doctor's prescription, according to the Times (Washington Times, 3/25).

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