The background and pro and con arguments were written by ProCon.org staff based upon input from the following sources.
Footnotes:
| 1. | Guttmacher Institute, “Contraceptive Use in the United States,” guttmacher.org, July 2018 | |
| 2. | Jo Jones, William Mosher, and Kimberly Daniels, “Current Contraceptive Use in the United States, 2006-2010, and Changes in Patterns of Use since 1995,” cdc.gov, Oct. 18, 2012 | |
| 3. | Katie Klabusich, “Advocates Set Sights on OTC Birth Control Pill on World Contraception Day,” rewire.news, Sep. 26, 2017 | |
| 4. | Bedsider, “Should the Pill Be Available Over the Counter?,” bedsider.org, Mar. 6, 2015 | |
| 5. | Joe Speidel, “Risky Business: Is Birth Control Safe?,” bedsider.org, Jan. 6, 2012 | |
| 6. | Elisabeth Rosenthal, “Is It Time for Off-the-Shelf Birth-Control Pills?,” nytimes.com, Apr. 20, 2013 | |
| 7. | Gabrielle Moss, “70 Percents of Americans Want Over-the-Counter Birth Control, and That’s Not So Crazy Considering You Can Easily Buy These 5 Drugs Already,” bustle.com, Oct. 22, 2014 | |
| 8. | Miranda Hitti, “Plan B One-Step: Seven Questions and Answers,” webmd.com, Nov. 29, 2007 | |
| 9. | Walgreens, “What’s the Difference between Emergency Contraceptives, Such as Plan B One-Step and Regular Birth Control Pills?,” walgreens.com (accessed Aug. 28, 2018) | |
| 10. | OCs OTC Working Group, “Global Oral Contraception Availability,” ocsotc.org/world-map (accessed Mar. 18, 2022) | |
| 11. | Suzannah Weiss, “New Mexico Becomes the Fourth State to Let Pharmacists Prescribe Birth Control,” glamour.com, June 13, 2017 | |
| 12. | Alyssa Kennedy, Jess Zuo, and Navya Dasari “The Over-the-Counter Birth Control Debate,” upenn.edu, Mar. 31, 2016 | |
| 13. | Diana G. Foster, et al., “Potential Public Sector Cost-Savings from Over-the-Counter Access to Oral Contraceptives,” contraceptionjournal.org, May 2015 | |
| 14. | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, “Over-the-Counter Birth Control Will Benefit Latina Health,” latinainstitute.org, Nov. 20, 2012 | |
| 15. | Neesha Powell, “Why We Need to Talk about Queer and Trans People and Birth Control,” medium.com, Dec. 2, 2017 | |
| 16. | Kellan Baker and Laura E. Durso, “Why Repealing the Affordable Care Act Is Bad Medicine for LGBT Communities,” americanprogress.org, Mar. 22, 2017 | |
| 17. | Adam Sonfield and Kathryn Kost, “Public Costs from Unintended Pregnancies and the Role of Public Insurance Programs in Paying for Pregnancy-Related Care: National and State Estimates for 2010,” guttmacher.org, Feb. 2015 | |
| 18. | DG Foster, et al., “Number of Oral Contraceptive Pill Packages Dispensed and Subsequent Unintended Pregnancies,” Obstetrics & Gynecology, Mar. 2011 | |
| 19. | JE Potter, et al., “Continuation of Prescribed Compared with Over-the-Counter Oral Contraceptives,” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, Mar. 2011 | |
| 20. | Laura Lindberg, John Santelli, and Sheila Desai, “Understanding the Decline in Adolescent Fertility in the United States, 2007-2012,” Journal of Adolescent Health, Nov. 2016 | |
| 21. | Johns Hopkins Medicine, “Experts Find Strong Case for Over-the-Counter Oral Contraceptives for Adults and Teens,” hopkinsmedicine.org, Mar. 14, 2017 | |
| 22. | Juell B. Homco, et al., “Reasons for Ineffective Pre-Pregnancy Contraception Use in Patients Seeking Abortion Services,” Contraception, Aug. 9, 2011 | |
| 23. | American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “Committee Opinion Number 615, January 2015,” acog.org, 2017 | |
| 24. | Joerg Dreweke, “New Clarity for the U.S. Abortion Debate: A Steep Drop in Unintended Pregnancy Is Driving Recent Abortion Declines,” guttmacher.org, Mar. 18, 2016 | |
| 25. | Emily M. Johnston, Brigette Courtot, and Genevieve M. Kenney, “Access to Contraception in 2016 and What It Means to Women,” urban.org, Jan. 2017 | |
| 26. | National Cancer Institute, “Oral Contraceptives and Cancer Risk,” cancer.gov (accessed Aug. 21, 2018) | |
| 27. | Planned Parenthood, “What Are the Benefits of the Birth Control Pill?,” plannedparenthood.org (accessed Aug. 21, 2018) | |
| 28. | Jennifer Rainey Marquez, “Other Benefits of Birth Control Pills,” webmd.com, Dec. 14, 2015 | |
| 29. | Valerie Tarico, “10 Bonus Health Benefits of Birth Control,” huffingtonpost.com, Feb. 9, 2015 | |
| 30. | Jessi Phillips, “What Happened When We Tried to Get Over-the-Counter Birth Control in California,” broadly.vice.com, Apr. 27, 2016 | |
| 31. | Pam Belluck and Sabrina Tavernise, “States Lead Effort to Let Pharmacists Prescribe Birth Control,” nytimes.com, Nov. 22, 2015 | |
| 32. | S. Shotorbani, et al., “Agreement between Women’s and Provider’s Assessment of Hormonal Contraceptive Risk Factors,” Contraception, May 2006 | |
| 33. | Ibis Reproductive Health, “Border Contraceptive Access Study,” ibisreproductivehealth.org (accessed Aug. 21, 2018) | |
| 34. | OCs OTC Working Group, “FAQs,” ocsotc.org (accessed Aug. 22, 2018) | |
| 35. | Ibis Reproductive Health, “A National Survey of US Women’s Interest in Over-the-Counter Access to Oral Contraceptives,” ocsotc.org, June 2013 | |
| 36. | Daniel Grossman, et al., “Interest in Over-the-Counter Access to Oral Contraceptives among Women in the United States,” Contraception, Oct. 201337 | |
| 37. | Adam Sonfield, Kinsey Hasstedt, Megan L. Kavanaugh, and Ragnar Anderson, “The Social and Economic Benefit of Women’s Ability to Determine Whether and When to Have Children,” guttmacher.org, Mar. 2013 | |
| 38. | Jeffrey A. Singer, “Free Birth Control from the Third-Party Trap,” cato.org, Sep. 1, 2017 | |
| 39. | Kaiser Family Foundation, “Women’s Health Insurance Coverage,” kff.org, Oct. 31, 2017 | |
| 40. | Adam Sonfield, “Contraceptive Coverage at the U.S. Supreme Court: Countering the Rhetoric with Evidence,” guttmacher.org, Mar. 7, 2014 | |
| 41. | American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “ACOG Statement on Pharmacist Prescribing Laws,” acog.org, Jan. 4, 2016 | |
| 42. | OCs OTC Working Group, “Statement of Purpose,” ocsotc.org (accessed Aug. 22, 2018) | |
| 43. | American Public Health Association, “Improving Access to Over the Counter Contraception by Expanding Insurance Coverage,” apha.org, Nov. 1, 2011 | |
| 44. | Jennifer McIntosh, et al., “Changing Oral Contraceptives from Prescription to Over-the-Counter Status: An Opinion Statement of the Women’s Health Practice and Research Network of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy,” accp.com, 2011 | |
| 45. | Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, “Women’s Health Insurance Coverage,” kff.org, Oct. 31, 2017 | |
| 46. | National Women’s Law Center, “New Data Estimate 62.8 Million Women Have Coverage of Birth Control without Out-of-Pocket Costs,” nwlc.org, Nov. 6, 2018 | |
| 47. | Amelia Harnish, “Is Over-the-Counter Birth Control a Good Idea?,” refinery29.com, Jan. 31, 2017 | |
| 48. | Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, “Offering Birth Control Over the Counter Wouldn’t Make It Any Cheaper,” fivethirtyeight.com, Nov. 18, 2014 | |
| 49. | Gregor Aisch and Bill Marsh, “How Likely Is It That Birth Control Could Let You Down?,” nytimes.com, Sep. 13, 2014 | |
| 50. | Robin Marty, “10 Things Every Woman Should Know about Over-the-Counter Birth Control,” cosmopolitan.com, Oct. 9, 2014 | |
| 51. | Suzanne Batchelor, “Fewer Pelvic Exams for Teens Seeking Birth Control,” womensnews.org, Jan. 15, 2004 | |
| 52. | Brittney McNamara, “7 Birth Control Myths That Are Definitely Putting You at Risk of Pregnancy,” teenvogue.com, May 31, 2016 | |
| 53. | Peter Arcidiacono, Ahmed Khwaja, and Lijing Ouyang, “Habit Persistence and Teen Sex, Could Increased Access to Contraception Have Unintended Consequences for Teen Pregnancies?,” semanticsscholar.org, Jan. 22, 2011 | |
| 54. | American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “Debate to Consider if America’s Ready for OTC Birth Control,” annualmeeting.acog.org, 2017 | |
| 55. | Harris Interactive, “Attitudes and Beliefs about the Use of Over-the-Counter Medicines: A Dose of Reality,” bemedwise.org, Jan. 2002 | |
| 56. | Deane B. Cheatham and Michael S. Wogalter, “Reported Liklihood of Reading Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medication Labeling and Contacting a Physician,” safetyhumanfactors.org, 2002 | |
| 57. | Miami Center of Excellence, “Over 35? It’s Time to Reevaluate Your Birth Control Method,” miamiobgyns.com (accessed Sep. 18, 2018) | |
| 58. | Joe Speidal, “Risky Business 2: Migraines, High Blood Pressure, and Blood Clots,” bedsider.org, June 15, 2016 | |
| 59. | Sarah Watts, “An Over-the-Counter Pill Isn’t Safe,” thedailybeast.com, June 15, 2015 | |
| 60. | WebMD, “Medicines That Interfere with Birth Control Pills,” webmd.com, Dec. 4, 2017 | |
| 61. | Maria Isabel Rodriguez, “Which Medications Can Mess with Birth Control?,” bedsider.org, Aug. 22, 2017 | |
| 62. | Guttmacher Institute, “Many American Women Use Birth Control Pills for Noncontraceptive Reasons,” guttmacher.org, Nov. 15, 2011 | |
| 63. | Olivia Alperstein, “From the Left: Birth Control Should Be Free, Not Over the Counter,” insidesources.com, July 16, 2017 | |
| 64. | ACLU, “Preventing Teenagers from Getting Contraceptives Unless They Tell a Parent Puts Teens at Risk,” aclu.org (accessed Sep. 19, 2018) | |
| 65. | Sneha Barot, “Moving Oral Contraceptives to Over-the-Counter Status: Policy Versus Politics,” guttmacher.org, Nov. 5, 2015 | |
| 66. | Katie Mui, “Here’s How to Get Birth Control without a Doctor’s Prescription,” goodrx.com, Feb. 13, 2018 | |
| 67. | Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, “Making a One-Year Supply of Birth Control a National Standard,” bixbycenter.ucef.efu (accessed Sep. 19, 2018) | |
| 68. | SC Landau, MP Tapias, and BT McGhee, “Birth Control within Reach: A National Survey on Women’s Attitudes toward and Interest in Pharmacy Access to Hormonal Contraception,” Contraception, Dec. 2006 | |
| 69. | Free the Pill, “Who Prescribes the Pill Online?,” freethepill.org (accessed Sep. 19, 2018) | |
| 70. | Nurx, homepage, nurx.com (accessed Sep. 19, 2018) | |
| 71. | Lemonaid, homepage, lemonaidhealth.com (accessed Sep. 19, 2018) | |
| 72. | Pandia Health, homepage, pandiahealth.com (accessed Sep. 19, 2018) | |
| 73. | Casey Gueren, “Should Birth Control Be Over the Counter?,” womenshealthmag.com, Oct. 31, 2014 | |
| 74. | FDA, “Birth Control Guide,” fda.gov (accessed Sep. 20, 2018) | |
| 75. | Sarah Elizabeth Richards, “Why Over-the-Counter Birth Control Could Actually Lead to More Unwanted Pregnancies,” latimes.com, May 28, 2016 | |
| 76. | Daniel Grossman and Kate Grindlay Kelly, “These Birth Control Pills Should Be Available without a Prescription,” teenvogue.com, Feb. 2, 2018 | |
| 77. | Kelli Stidham Hall, James Trussell, and Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, “Progestin-Only Contraceptive Pill Use among Women in the United States,” Contraception, Dec. 2012 | |
| 78. | Holly Grigg-Spall, Sweetening the Pill, or How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control, 2013 | |
| 79. | Lara Briden, “Why Young Teens Need Real Periods–Not the Pill,” menstruationresearch.org, Sep. 8, 2015 | |
| 80. | Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), “FAQs about Rx-to-OTC Switch,” chpa.org (accessed Oct. 15, 2018) | |
| 81. | Kirsten M.J. Thompson, “A Brief History of Birth Control in the U.S.,” ourbodiesourselves.org, Dec. 14, 2013 | |
| 82. | Andrea Tone, Devices & Desires: A History of Contraceptives in America, 2001 | |
| 83. | Lisa Fogarty, “What Birth Control Was Like in Every Decade since the 1900s,” redbookmag.com, Apr. 12, 2017 | |
| 84. | Joan M. Jensen, “The Evolution of Margaret Sanger’s Family Limitation Pamphlet, 1914-1921,” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 1981 | |
| 85. | Emma McGowan, “11 Crucial Moments in the History of the Reproductive Rights Movement,” bustle.com, June 12, 2017 | |
| 86. | Jennifer Latson, “Why Birth Control Pioneer Margaret Sanger Kept Getting Arrested,” time.com, Oct. 16, 2015 | |
| 87. | PBS, “Anthony Comstock’s ‘Chastity’ Laws,” pbs.org (accessed Nov. 28, 2018) | |
| 88. | Rachel Port, “Hobby Lobby: Birth Control and the Law,” advocatesaz.org, Oct. 22, 2014 | |
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| 91. | Time Magazine, “Medicine: Birth Control Raid,” time.com, Apr. 29, 1929 | |
| 92. | Margaret Sanger, “The Status of Birth Control: 1938,” newrepublic.com, Apr. 19, 1938 | |
| 93. | Theodora R. Moses, “American Birth Control League,” britannica.com (accessed July 10, 2018) | |
| 94. | Dorothy Roberts, Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty, 1997 | |
| 95. | CDC, “Population by Age Groups, Race, and Sex for 1960-97,” cdc.gov (accessed Oct. 15, 2018) | |
| 96. | ACLU, “Timeline of Important Reproductive Freedom Cases Decided by the Supreme Court,” aclu.org (accessed Apr. 23, 2018) | |
| 97. | Case Western Reserve University, “Intrauterine Device (IUD),” case.edu (accessed May 7, 2018) | |
| 98. | Linda J. Piccinino and William D. Mosher, “Trends in Contraceptive Use in the United States: 1982-1995,” guttmacher.org, Jan./Feb. 1998 | |
| 99. | Adam Liptak, “Supreme Court Rejects Contraceptives Mandate for Some Corporations,” nytimes.com, June 20, 2014 | |
| 100. | SCOTUS Blog, “Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell,” scotusblog.com (accessed July 10, 2018) | |
| 101. | Heather Munro Prescott, The Morning After: A History of Emergency Contraception in the United States, 2011 | |
| 102. | A. Dekhtyar, “A Difficult Proposition: Oral Contraceptives’ Switch from Prescription to Over-the-Counter Status,” dash.harvard.edu, 1997 | |
| 103. | Rob Stein, “Plan B Use Surges, And So Does Controversy,” washingtonpost.com, July 13, 2007 | |
| 104. | American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “Committee Opinion,” acog.org, Dec. 2012 | |
| 105. | Bobby Jindal, “The End of Birth-Control Politics,” wsj.com, Dec. 13, 2012 | |
| 106. | Charlotte Alter, “Why Over-the-Counter Birth Control Is Stalled,” time.com, Dec. 23, 2015 | |
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| 109. | Tammy Duckworth, “H.R.3163 – Affordability Is Access Act,” congress.gov (accessed Oct. 25, 2018) | |
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| 125. | Kaiser Family Foundation, "Women's Health Insurance Coverage," kff.org, Nov. 08, 2021 | |
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